Pulitzer Winner Sanna Irshad Mattoo, A Kashmir Journalist, Barred From Leaving India

Pulitzer-winning photojournalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo was barred from flying out of India's New Delhi airport on Wednesday. Mattoo was attempting to fly to New York to receive her Pulitzer Prize in feature photography with Reuters.

Mattoo, 28, said in a series of tweets that she was barred from leaving the country by Indian immigration officers and informed that her ticket had been "canceled without prejudice." Authorities did not offer further explanation.

This is the second time the Kashmir journalist has been barred from leaving the country this year. In July, Mattoo was stopped by New Delhi immigration officers while attempting to fly to Paris for a book launch.

"I was not given any reason but told I would not be able to travel internationally," Mattoo said in a tweet.

In both attempts to leave the country, Mattoo sad she presented a valid visa and ticket for her destination. Mattoo said she had reached out to officials after she was barred from leaving in July but heard no response.

Mattoo, who was a part of a team that reported on India's second Covid-19 wave, will miss Thursday's Pulitzer awards ceremony. It is unknown why the Indian government prevented her from exiting the country or when she will be allowed to leave in the future.

"Being able to attend the awards ceremony was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me," Mattoo said in a tweet on Wednesday.

Several Indian journalists and activists have been prevented from leaving the country or deported upon entry in recent months. Washington Post journalist Rana Ayyub was stopped in Mumbai when she attempted to board a flight to the UK to present at the International Center for Journalists.

Emmy Award winner and journalist Angad Singh was deported to the U.S. shortly after landing in Delhi in August. Singh's passport was confiscated before his departure. Singh had recently produced a docuseries for Vice News about the Indian farmer's strike.

There is growing concern about the Indian government's escalating crackdown on freedom of speech and expression with a structural move toward Hindu nationalism. Mattoo is one of several journalists facing challenges from the Indian government in Kashmir, a disputed region between India and Pakistan.

In April, Suhasini Raj of the New York Times reported stories of multiple journalists from Kashmir who had been arrested or detained under laws activists say are being weaponized against journalists and others voicing dissent or criticism of the government.