The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to imprisoned Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian campaign group Memorial and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties.
This honor will be widely seen as a rebuke to the Russian leader Vladimir Poutinewho is turns 70and Moscow’s ally, the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenkomaking it one of the most politically controversial in decades.
The prize, the first since the invasion of Moscow Ukrainehas overtones of the Cold War era, when prominent Soviet dissidents such as Andrei Sakharov and Alexander Solzhenitsyn won Nobel Prizes.
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The winners were announced in Oslo by Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
She said the judges wanted to honor “three outstanding defenders of human rights, democracy and peaceful coexistence in neighboring countries Belarus, Russia and Ukraine”.
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She added: “Through their tireless efforts to promote human values, anti-militarism and the principles of law, this year’s laureates have revitalized and honored Alfred Nobel’s vision of peace and brotherhood among nations, a vision that the world needs most today.”
Ms Reiss-Andersen also called on Belarus to release Mr Bialiatski from prison.
However, she insisted the award was not against Mr Putin.
“We always give the award for something and to something and not against someone,” she said.
Belarusian security police raided the offices and homes of lawyers and human rights activists in July last year, arresting Mr Bialiatski and others in a new repression against opponents of the regime.
Human rights group Memorial has been shut down in Russia by the Kremlin. Photo: AP
Authorities had decided to shut down independent media and human rights groups after mass protests last August against a presidential election marred by widespread allegations that it had been rigged.
Human rights group Memorial, which was shut down in Russia by the Kremlin, said winning the award was recognition of his work and of his colleagues who continue to face “attacks and reprisals unspeakable” in their country.
The Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties said it was proud to win, while a Belarusian opposition spokesman said the award recognized the courageous stand taken by the country’s people against the “tyranny” of the rulers.
The Peace Prize traditionally recognizes the work of groups and activists who seek to prevent conflict, address hardship and protect human rights.
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Last year’s winners have gone through a tough time since receiving the award.
Journalists Dmitry Muratov from Russia and Maria Ressa from the Philippines are fighting for the survival of their news agencies and defying government efforts to silence them.
They were honored last year for “their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a prerequisite for democracy and lasting peace.”
A week of Nobel Prize announcements kicked off Monday with Swedish scientist Svante Paabo receives medicine prize to unlock the secrets of Neanderthal DNA that provided key insights into the immune system.
Three scientists jointly won the physics prize on Tuesday.
Frenchman Alain Aspect, American John F Clauser and Austrian Anton Zeilinger had shown that tiny particles can maintain a connection with each other even when separated, a phenomenon known as quantum entanglement. which can be used for specialized computing and to encrypt information.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded on Wednesday to Americans Carolyn R Bertozzi and K. Barry Sharpless, along with Danish scientist Morten Meldal, for developing a way to “glue molecules together” that can be used to explore cells, map DNA and design drugs that can more precisely target diseases like cancer.
french author Annie Ernaux won the Nobel Prize for Literature this year Thursday.
The panel praised her for blending fiction and autobiography in books that draw on her experiences as a working-class woman to explore life in France since the 1940s.
The 2022 Nobel Prize in Economics will be announced on Monday.
The prizes carry a cash reward of 10 million Swedish kronor (around £800,000) and will be presented on December 10.
The money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s Swedish creator, Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite.
