SRINAGAR: Pulitzer-winning Kashmiri photojournalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo has 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.
On April 9, Mattoo was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in the Feature Photography category for her coverage of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in India. She shared the award with Adnan Abidi, Amit Dave and the deceased Danish Siddiqui.
Mattoo said that this was the second time she was stopped from travelling abroad in the past four months.
In July too, she was barred from travelling to Paris for a book launch and photography exhibition as one of the 10 winners of the Serendipity Arles Grant 2020, she had claimed and said she had a valid French visa and alleged she was given no reason for being stopped.
“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.
“Being able to attend the award ceremony was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me,” she added.
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