– We are very happy now, says Natalia Petrova, press secretary at Memorial to news. The Russian organization was awarded the prize together with the activist from Belarus Aljes Byalyatski and the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Rights. – It is an enormous support for us. We feel that this is recognition from the world community about our work. We are very grateful for this honorable award, she continues. – Do they fear that the authorities will crack down harder on Memorial now that it has received international recognition? Spokesperson for Memorial, Natalia Petrova. Photo: Institute for the Study of Human Rights – There is, of course, a possibility for that. It is a very bad situation for civil society in Russia now. She thinks it is difficult to say what this means for the fight for human rights in Russia because of the war in Ukraine and what is happening in the country now. – We’ll see, but this is very meaningful, and it should be meaningful for the Russian authorities as well. But he is sure of one thing. – It is not possible to live without hoping for changes. My colleagues work hard for a better future for Russia. But we’ll see what happens, she concludes. The wife of the peace prize winner: – Overwhelmed The wife of the Belarusian human rights activist Ales Byalyatskis tells the AFP news agency that she is overwhelmed by emotions. – I express my deep gratitude to the Nobel Committee and the international community for recognizing the work of Ales, his colleagues and his organisation, says Natalia Pinstjuk. Aljes Byaljatski was one of those who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He is now in prison in Belarus without trial. Photo: VIKTOR DRACHEV / Afp Aljes Byaljatski was imprisoned between 2011 and 2014. In 2020 he was arrested and imprisoned again after extensive demonstrations against the regime in Belarus. He is still in prison without a sentence. Therefore, the news about the peace prize itself has not reached the peace prize winner yet, says Anastasia Autsharova to NTB. – It is very difficult to communicate with him, says Autsharova. She works for the organization Viasna, which was founded by the peace prize winner. Autsharova hopes he will find out soon. Ales Byalyatski Belarusian writer and human rights activist. Educated at the Homiel University of Belarus (history and philology), as well as at the Belarusian Academy of Sciences (literature). Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2022 Born in Vjartsilia in Russian Karelia in 1962 Active in human rights work in the former Soviet Republic of Belarus since the 1980s Leader of the human rights organization Vyasna, which he founded in 1996 Currently in prison in Belarus without a sentence. He has been imprisoned a number of times, including from 2011-2014. Has won several awards, including the Swedish Per Anger Prize in 2006 and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee’s Sakharov Freedom Prize in the same year. Married to Natalja Pintsjuk and has a son, Adam. – Important for us Oleksandra Romantsova from the Center for Civil Rights was called by the Nobel Committee’s secretary Olav Njølstad just before the award was announced. When he explained who he was and where he was calling from, you could clearly hear the tension in her voice. – This is very important to us. It’s incredible, said Romantsova. The Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Rights shares the prize with Aljes Byalyatski, an activist from Belarus, and the Russian organization Memorial – The fight for freedom and democracy – Of course we celebrate today, but Ales is in prison because of his work with human rights, says Natalia Satsunkevich to news. She also works at Viasna. Natalia Satsunkevich works in Byalyatski’s organization, Vyasna. Photo: Private – I congratulate Ales on the award, but I hope that the authorities in Belarus see this and let him go. Belarus’ opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaja says that the Nobel Prize recognizes the struggle for freedom and democracy after Byalyatski received the prize. – Congratulations to the Belarusian human rights defender and political prisoner Aljes Byaljatski for receiving the Nobel Prize for 2022, she wrote on Twitter. – The award is an important recognition for all Belarusians who fight for freedom and democracy. All political prisoners must be released, she says. Here is Svetlana Tikhanovskaja in the Prime Minister’s office when she visited Norway earlier this year. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB – Peace Prize we need in our time. In a press release from the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, they say that this is a peace prize we need in our time. – This is an incredibly gratifying award that we at the Helsinki Committee have been hoping for for many years, says Berit Lindeman, secretary general of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. She further says that this is an important recognition of the great importance of civil society, democracy and human rights in creating and securing peace. The organization Amnesty also offers congratulations. Secretary-General John Peder Egenæs says that Amnesty has worked together with these organizations for many years, and that they are making an important effort to document the situation in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. – They document what it’s like on the ground in a time of war in Europe, and the organizations play an important role in their societies in various ways. So for those of us who work with human rights, it is an award we are happy about, says Egenæs. Nominated Memorial several times – Congratulations to the Russian organization Memorial, the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Rights, and activist Aljes Byaljatski from Belarus, with the Nobel Peace Prize, writes Erna Solberg in a press release. Solberg says that she has actually nominated Memorial for the Nobel Peace Prize several times. Høgre also gave the Sjur Lindebrække prize to the organization in 2012, she says further. – In 2015, we gave the same award to the Center for Civil Rights. They have protected the right to criticize power, and made an important attempt to document war crimes and abuse of power. Worthy winners, writes Solberg. Memorials’ archive in Moscow contains information on more than 3 million victims of political persecution in the Soviet Union. The organization also holds several conferences on the human rights struggle in Russia. Photo: ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP SV manager Audun Lysbakken says that this is a fair and good award. In a press release, he congratulates the winners, and says that the party nominated Memorial for the prize in 2020. – The war in Ukraine and the authoritarian development in Russia is one of the most important threats to global security in many years. It is an important reminder for all of us of the importance of a strong and activist civil society to promote democracy and human rights, says Lysbakken.
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Fears the authorities will crack down harder on Memorial – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
