Stockholm: This year’s Nobel Prizes were distributed yesterday. This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Belarusian human rights activist Ailes Bialiatsky, who was jailed by the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, Memorial, the country’s human rights organization that was closed by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and the Ukrainian human rights organization, the Center for Civil Liberties. Against the backdrop of the Ukraine-Russia invasion, the Nobel Peace Prize laureates from these three countries have been on stage for a rare occasion. Oleksandra Matvychak, head of the Center for Civil Liberties, activist Jan Raczynski on behalf of the memorial, and his wife Natalia Pinchak on behalf of Ailes Bialiatsky accepted the awards. The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize took place at the Oslo City Hall in Norway, while the awarding of the others began last night at the Stockholm Concert Hall in Sweden. There was a strong protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the Nobel Peace Prize. Oleksandra Matvichak rejected calls for a political settlement on the Ukraine issue. Oleksandra Matvychak said that this would allow them to keep the land illegally seized by Russia in Ukraine, and that fighting for peace does not mean giving in to the aggressor’s pressure. The Nobel Prizes were announced in the first week of October. Nobel Prizes are awarded directly after an interval of two years.
