Human rights advocates from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus clinch Nobel Peace Prize

The official Twitter page of The Nobel Prize said: "The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2022 #NobelPeacePrize to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties. "

In a statement, The Nobel Prize said: "The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries."

"They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens," read the statement.

"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," the statement said.

The prize was awarded to the winners, seven months after Russia waged a full-scale war on Ukraine.

Memorial was founded in 1987 and, after the fall of the Soviet Union, became one of Russia’s most prominent human rights watchdogs. It has worked to expose the abuses and atrocities of the Stalinist era, reports CNN.

The group was shut down by Russian courts in the past year, in a major blow to the country’s hollowed-out civil rights landscape, the American news channel reported.

Ales Bialiatski is a Belarusian civic leader and former prisoner of conscience known for his work with the Human Rights Centre “Viasna”. In 2020, he won Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the "Alternate Nobel Prize".

Since July 14, 2021, he has been imprisoned for alleged tax evasion.

According to reports, human right defenders consider the charges to be politically motivated and recognize Bialiatski as a prisoner of conscience.

According to The Nobel Prize website,  Center for Civil Liberties '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'.

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