PremiumThe 28-year-old photojournalist, who was awarded the Pulitzer for the coverage of COVID pandemic for Reuters, was scheduled to fly to New York on Monday.
Pulitzer-winning Kashmiri photojournalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo on Tuesday said she was stopped from flying to the United States by immigration authorities at the Delhi airport "despite having a valid visa and ticket".
The 28-year-old photojournalist, who was awarded the Pulitzer for the coverage of COVID pandemic for Reuters, was scheduled to fly to New York on Monday.
"I was on my way to receive the Pulitzer award (@Pulitzerprizes) in New York but I was stopped at immigration at Delhi airport and barred from travelling internationally despite holding a valid US visa and ticket," Mattoo tweeted on Tuesday.
“This is the second time I have been stopped without reason or cause. Despite reaching out to several officials after what happened few months ago, I never received any response," she wrote.
"Being able to attend the award ceremony was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me," she further added.
She said this was the second time she has been stopped from travelling abroad in the past four months.
Prior to that on 2 July, Mattoo was stopped at the Delhi airport while she was travelling to Paris for a book launch and photography exhibition as one of 10 award winners of the Serendipity Arles grant 2020.
Jammu & Kashmir Police had then told a news agency that Mattoo’s name was on a no-fly list without specifying the reason for it.
Earlier in July, Aakash Hassan was stopped from travelling to Sri Lanka for covering the crisis in the neighbouring country. National Conference (NC) had condemned the barring of the Kashmiri journalist, saying the measure infringes upon fundamental right to freedom of movement.
NC chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq had said that there was no justification to the action. "The curbs on the free movement of our journalists is yet another step towards disabling the working environment of the media and press fraternity," he had said.
"It is high time for the government to pause and take a critical look at its claims and doings. Such undue intimidation and curbs give a lie to the claims of the government on creating an enabling environment for the working of the press in Kashmir," he had said.
(With inputs from PTI)