Indian journalist Rana Ayyub formally conferred Press Freedom award

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Rana Ayyub, an Indian journalist who, in June 2022, was declared the recipient of the American National Press Club’s 2022 International John Aubuchon Award for Press Freedom, was formally conferred the award on December 8, 2022, in Washington, D.C. The Aubuchon is the National Press Club’s highest honor for Press Freedom, and Ayyub is the first Indian journalist to receive it.

Ayyub announced the following on Twitter Dec. 8, upon being feted at the National Press Club – “This evening I received the John Aubuchon honour in a room full of the country’s finest. I dedicated the award to Shirin Abu Akhleh and to every single journalist fighting an isolating battle. History will be kind to us. Thank you.”

In the June 28 announcement, Ayyub was described as a courageous and skilled investigative journalist whose criticism of the government “has been met with an unwelcome assault on her rights and freedom of expression.” The announcement also criticized Twitter back in June for censoring Ayyub’s tweets relating to threats against a mosque.

Past Aubuchon honorees include: Maria Ressa, Jason Rezaian, Austin Tice, Marie Colvin, Jamal Kashoggi, Emilio Gutierrez-Soto and last year Danny Fenster and Haze Fan.

Ayyub is the author of The Gujarat Files: The Anatomy of a cover up.” Apart from her investigative journalism, she is an opinion writer for The Washington Post.