In a series of tweets on Saturday after he was barred from travel, Mattoo posted a picture of his boarding pass and a page on his passport with ‘cancelled without prejudice’ and said he had to take it to the Delhi airport. But was stopped at the immigration desk. The reason for this was not given.
Mattu was among 10 lens-based artists from South Asia who received the Serendipity Arles Grant in 2020 and traveled to Paris for a book launch and photography exhibition at an art festival by the same organization, where his final work was due to take place. been displayed. Based on Grant, Mattoo’s project was about juvenile detention in Kashmir and how children have been the worst victims of conflict. “My project sheds light on the struggle of coming of age and how her experiences profoundly changed her life and the lives of others while facing the legal system and struggling to live. It shows how childhood in Kashmir is different from any other,” she had said while describing her project in a video submission.
I was scheduled to travel from Delhi to Paris today for a book release and photography exhibition as one of the 10 prizes… https://t.co/MaCZsau900
— Sana Irshad Mattoo (@mattoosanna) 1656750300000
Speaking to TOI on Saturday, she said that despite valid passport and visa France, she was told by immigration officials that she would not be allowed to travel internationally. “The immigration officials refused to give me the proper reason. When I put pressure, they said that they are working on the instructions of SSP. cid the headquarters
Kashmir. I called the CID office in Kashmir and spoke to the ground staff as well as some police officers who said that my visa and passport are fine. I have my formal invitation too. Then why am I being stopped? It is not that I have any police record or FIR against me,” said the resident of Saida Kadal SrinagarJoe was among the four photojournalists from India who received the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Photography this year for their coverage of the COVID crisis in India.
Mattoo has often been vocal about the state of journalism in Kashmir in the wake of the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. Asked if he had any idea why he might be stopped from travelling, Mattu said: “If something went wrong with me I wouldn’t have a passport or a visa. Most of my work is based on Kashmir and any work in Kashmir will always have a political angle but how can it stop me from traveling?”
Since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in August 2019, a number of prominent Kashmiris, including businessmen, journalists, lawyers and political activists, have been placed on a preventive ‘travel ban list’ and yet have no specific reason to be denied foreign travel. Reason not given. Valid visa from the country and boarding pass given to them by the airlines.
watch I was stopped from flying to France at IGI: Pulitzer winning photojournalist Sana Mattoo