Sanna Irshad Mattoo, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Kashmiri photojournalist, claims that immigration officials at the Delhi airport prevented her from travelling to the United States ‘despite having a valid visa and ticket.’
For her work covering the Covid-19 pandemic for Reuters, Mattoo received the Pulitzer Prize. She stated that the 28-year-old photojournalist had a Monday flight to New York scheduled.
While travelling to New York to accept the Pulitzer Prize (@Pulitzerprizes), Mattoo wrote on Tuesday, ‘I was stopped at immigration at Delhi airport and barred from travelling internationally despite holding a valid US visa and ticket.’
In the previous four months, Mattoo said that she had been stopped from travelling abroad a second time. ‘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 a response. Being able to attend the award ceremony was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me (sic),’ she added.
The government or the airport administration has not yet addressed Mattoo’s claims.
For her work as a member of a Reuters team covering the Covid-19 issue in India, Mattoo was one of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize winners in the category of Feature Photography. Since 2018, Mattoo has been a freelance photojournalist who captures life in Kashmir under Indian control.
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