OSLO (TIP): Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov have won the Nobel Peace Prize for their fights to defend freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia, according to a BBC report.

The Nobel committee called the pair “representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal”.

The editors are known for hard-hitting investigations that have angered their countries’ rulers, and both have faced significant threats. They were chosen out of 329 candidates.

Ms Ressa, who co-founded the news site Rappler, was commended for using freedom of expression to “expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines”.

The award-winning journalist was convicted last year of libel in a case seen as a test of the country’s press freedom.

In a live broadcast by Rappler, Ms Ressa said she was “in shock”.

She said her win showed that “nothing is possible without facts… a world without facts means a world without truth and trust”.

In a statement, Rappler said it was “honored and astounded” that its chief executive had been given the prize.

“It could not have come at a better time – a time when journalists and the truth are being attacked and undermined,” it said.