Stopped from travelling to US, claims Pulitzer award-winning photojournalist
Despite having a valid US visa and ticket, Mattoo was stopped at immigration at the Delhi airport and barred from travelling internationally. Mattoo was en route to New York to accept the Pulitzer Prize.
FollowSanna Irshad Mattoo, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Kashmiri photojournalist, said that she was denied entry to the United States by immigration officials at the Delhi airport "despite having a valid visa and ticket."
The photojournalist, Sanna Irshad Mattoo (28), was scheduled to fly to New York on Monday to cover the COVID pandemic for Reuters.
"I was on my way to New York to accept the Pulitzer Prize, but I was stopped at immigration at Delhi airport and barred from travelling internationally despite having a valid US visa and ticket," Mattoo tweeted on Tuesday.
She claimed that this was the second time she had been barred from travelling abroad in four months. "This is the second time I've been stopped for no apparent reason. Despite contacting several officials following what happened a few months ago, I never received a response."
"Having the opportunity to attend the award ceremony was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me," she added.
Mattoo was stopped at the Delhi airport on July 2 on her way to France for a book launch and photography exhibition as one of ten Serendipity Arles Grant recipients. The Jammu and Kashmir Police then told a news agency that Mattoo's name was on a no-fly list without explaining why.
Mattoo, Adnan Abidi, Amit Dave, and Danish Siddiqui were awarded the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in the feature photography category for their coverage of the Covid pandemic in India. Mattoo, Adnan Abidi, Amit Dave, and Danish Siddiqui were killed while covering the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
Another Kashmiri journalist, Aakash Hassan, was barred from boarding a flight to Colombo on July 26 at Delhi Airport. Gowhar Geelani, a Kashmiri journalist and author, was denied entry to Germany in 2019.
Also read: Who was Danish Siddiqui, the Indian photojournalist who won the Pulitzer Prize
Also read: Pulitzer Award for Indian photojournalists for their images of Covid's toll on India
Also read: Photojournalist Danish Siddiqui’s body was mutilated by Taliban: US media report
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