Jailed Belarusian rights activist wins Nobel Peace Prize

The jailed Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski, Russian human rights organisation Memorial and Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

The Norwegian Nobel committee wishes to honour three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful co-existence in the neighbouring countries of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, the committee chair, Berit Reiss-Andersen, said.

She called for Belarus to release Bialiatski from prison.

The prize will be seen by many as a condemnation of Russia's president Vladimir Putin, who is celebrating his 70th birthday on Friday, and Belarus's president Alexander Lukashenko, making it one of the most politically contentious in decades.

Reiss-Andersen said that the award was not an anti-Putin prize. She told reporters that they always give the prize for something and not against someone.

In July of last year, Belarusian security police raided offices and homes of lawyers and human rights activists, detaining Bialiatski and others in a new crackdown on opponents of Lukashenko.

After mass protests against a presidential election that the opposition said was rigged, authorities shut down non-state media outlets and human rights groups.

On 10 December, the Nobel Peace Prize, worth 10 m Swedish crowns, will be presented in Oslo on 10 December, the anniversary of the death of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who founded the awards in his 1895 will.

The Norwegian Nobel committee said that they have promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens for many years.

They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses and abuse of power. They show the importance of civil society for peace and democracy. Bialiatski was hailed by the committee as one of the initiators of the democratic movement that emerged in Belarus in the mid- 1980s and devoted himself to promoting democracy and peaceful development in his home country, the committee said.

The award of the prize to Bialiatski is a recognition for the whole Belarusian people in standing up to Lukashenko, said Franak Viacorka, an opposition spokesman. He is kept in inhuman conditions and we hope it will help him and thousands of others from Lukashenko's cells and KGB's cells, Viacorka said.

The Center for Civil Liberties said the Center for Civil Liberties had taken a stand to strengthen Ukrainian civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the centre has been engaged in efforts to identify and document Russian war crimes against the Ukrainian population. The centre is playing a pioneering role in holding guilty parties accountable for their crimes. In 1987, a memorial was established by human rights activists in the former Soviet Union who wanted to make sure that the victims of the communist regime's oppression would never be forgotten.

The committee said that confronting past crimes is essential in preventing new ones. The organisation has been at the forefront of efforts to combat militarism and promote human rights and government based on rule of law.