A trio of human rights champions from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine yesterday won the Nobel Peace Prize, a highly symbolic choice of laureates drawn from three nations at the center of the war in Ukraine.
The honor went to detained rights advocate Ales Bialiatski of Belarus, Russia’s Memorial group and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties.
“They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy,” Norwegian Nobel Committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said.
Photo: REUTERS
The committee called on Belarus to release Bialiatski, 60, who has been jailed since last year.
Bialiatski’s wife said she was “overwelmed with emotion” after the news.
While the prize was not a direct message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Reiss-Andersen called his regime an “authoritarian government that is suppressing human rights activists,” and that the committee wanted to highlight the “way civil society and human rights advocates are being suppressed.”
Last year, the Peace Prize crowned two champions of freedom of the press, Philippine journalist Maria Ressa and her Russian colleague Dmitry Muratov.
The prize comes with a gold medal, a diploma and a prize sum of 10 million Swedish kronor (US$900,300).
The award is to be presented at a formal ceremony in Oslo on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of the prizes’ creator, Swedish inventor and philanthropist Alfred Nobel.
Reiss-Andersen said she hoped Bialiatski would be able to attend.
“We do hope ... that he can come to Oslo and receive the honor bestowed upon him,” she said.
Bialiatski was imprisoned from 2011 to 2014 and was again arrested following large-scale demonstrations against the Belarusian government in 2020.
“He is still detained without trial. Despite tremendous personal hardship, Mr Bialiatski has not yielded an inch in his fight for human rights and democracy in Belarus,” the Nobel committee said.
Memorial is the largest human rights organization in Russia.
The Russian Supreme Court ordered the group’s central structure, called Memorial International, dissolved late last year.
In addition to establishing a center of documentation on victims of the Stalinist era, Memorial compiled and systematized information on political oppression and human rights abuses in Russia.
It became the most authoritative source of information on political prisoners in Russian detention facilities.
The organization has also been standing at the forefront of efforts to combat militarism, and promote human rights and government based on rule of law.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the Center for Civil Liberties, founded in 2007, has engaged in efforts to identify and document Russian war crimes against Ukrainian civilians.
“In collaboration with international partners, the center is playing a pioneering role with a view to holding the guilty parties accountable for their crimes,” the committee said.
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