Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Memorial, Center for Civil Liberties, and Ales Bialiatski

The Nobel Committee announced on October 7 that the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize was being awarded to Russian human rights organization Memorial. Formally, Memorial was liquidated by the Russian Supreme Court in April 2022, but it has since continued to operate.

This year, the prize will be shared between Memorial, Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski, and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties.

“The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. They have for many years promoted the right to criticize power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses, and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.

A Moscow court is currently trying to seize Memorial’s offices in Moscow

In 2021, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, and Maria Ressa, a Filipino journalist who heads the opposition website Rapple. They were awarded "for their efforts to preserve freedom of expression, a prerequisite for democracy and peace."

Muratov donated the cash portion of the award to charitable organizations. In June 2022, the head of Novaya Gazeta sold his Nobel medal at auction for $103.5 million. The proceeds from the sale went to support UNICEF’s humanitarian mission to help Ukrainian refugee children and their families.