Lawfare, General Lawfare – journalists

Indian authorities have stopped a photojournalist from boarding a flight to the United States, where she had planned to attend a ceremony to receive a Pulitzer Prize. Sanna Irshad Mattoo, who is based in Indian Kashmir’s largest city of Srinagar, is part of a four-member Reuters team which won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for their coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in India.

Mattoo, who holds an Indian passport, said she was stopped at immigration at New Delhi airport on Monday night and prevented from travelling to the United States despite holding a valid visa and a ticket. “Being able to attend the award ceremony was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me,” Mattoo said on Twitter on Tuesday.

India’s home ministry did not respond to questions from Reuters. The foreign ministry said it had no comment to offer. Journalists in Kashmir have long been under the close scrutiny of local and national authorities, who also strictly control access for foreign reporters who want to travel there.