Stopped from travelling to US, claims Pulitzer-winning Kashmiri photojournalist

Sanna Irshad Mattoo was awarded the Pulitzer prize for the coverage of Covid-19 pandemic for Reuters.

Updated on: Oct 19, 2022, 09:27:03 IST

By HT News Desk | Written by Aniruddha Dhar, New Delhi

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Sanna Irshad Mattoo, a Pulitzer-winning Kashmiri photojournalist, has claimed that she was stopped from flying to the United States by immigration authorities at the Delhi airport “despite having a valid visa and ticket”.

Mattoo was awarded the Pulitzer prize for the coverage of Covid-19 pandemic for Reuters. The photojournalist, 28 was scheduled to fly to New York on Monday, she said.

"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.

Mattoo alleged that this was the second time she was stopped from travelling abroad in the past four months.

“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 but I never received ay response. Being able to attend the award ceremony was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me (sic),” she added.

The airport administration or the government was yet to respond to Mattoo's claims.

Mattoo was among the 2022 Pulitzer Prize winners in the Feature Photography category for the coverage of the Covid-19 crisis in India as part of a Reuters team. Mattoo has been working as a freelance photojournalist since 2018 depicting life in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

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