The Nobel Peace Prize 2022 has been announced. Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski, Russian non-profit Memorial, and Ukraine's outfit Centre for Civil Liberties have been jointly announced as the winners of the prestigious award. This year's award is being seen as against Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered an ongoing invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. However, the Nobel panel said the award wasn't against any person.
The Nobel prizes will be awarded to the winners on December 10. For the peace prize winners, this could be an uneasy situation as Bialiatski is in jail.
Bialiatski is a pro-democracy activist in Belarus. He has been fighting for human and civil rights for over four decades.
He is one of the most bitter critics of Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus' President. He had campaigned against him several times and has been jailed several times over what the activists call trumped-up charges.
Bialiatski is currently in jail since 2020 when he protested against Lukashenko's election as the President of the pro-Russia country.
He is also facing tax evasion charges and other allegations.
If arrested, he can face up to 12 years in jail.
It is impossible for him to collect the award under these circumstances.
How much would Nobel winners get?
All Nobel winners get a monetary prize of a whopping 10 million Swedish kronor or around 900,000 dollars. In Indian currency, this money will translate into over Rs 7 crore.
As per the Nobel panel, if Bialiatski is unable to receive the award in person, he can send in a representative who can collect the award for him.
There is another way the award can be given.
The panel can place an empty chair on the stage as a symbol of Bialiatski's presence. The Nobel panel had chosen this method in 2010 when jailed Chinese rights activist Liu Xiaobo won the award.
