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<\/div>\nSanna Irshad Mattoo has reportedly been put on a no-fly list by the Jammu and Kashmir police. (File)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Washington: <\/b><\/p>\n
The United States is aware of reports of Pulitzer-winning Kashmiri journalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo allegedly being prevented from travelling to the country, a State Department official has said.<\/p>\n
Sanna Mattoo had on Tuesday said she was stopped at the IGI Airport in Delhi from flying to the US to received the prestigious award.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are aware of the reports of Ms Mattoo being prevented from travelling to the US and are tracking these developments closely,\u201d State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters at his daily news conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are committed to supporting press freedom. And as the secretary has noted, a shared commitment to democratic values, including the respect for the independence of the press, is a bedrock of the US-India relationship,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I don’t have any other specifics to offer\u2026 we are tracking this closely,\u201d Patel said in response to a question.<\/p>\n
Mattoo, a freelance photojournalist, was part of a Reuters team that won the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for their coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in India.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists urged Indian officials to let Mattoo travel to the US to attend the Pulitzer awards ceremony.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no reason why Kashmiri journalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo, who had all the right travel documents and has won a Pulitzer\u2013one of the most prestigious journalism awards\u2013should have been prevented from traveling abroad,\u201d said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia programme coordinator, in Frankfurt, Germany.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis decision is arbitrary and excessive. Indian authorities must immediately cease all forms of harassment and intimidation against journalists covering the situation in Kashmir,\u201d Beh said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n