Jena (dpa/th) - Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (left) congratulated the Russian human rights organization Memorial on winning the Nobel Peace Prize. In a letter to co-founder Irina Scherbakowa, who is currently researching and teaching at the University of Jena, he explained: "With an indescribable commitment you have campaigned for the organization you co-founded, for human rights in Russia and for the victims of Stalinism deployed." The world needs Memorial's work as an important symbol for democratic Russia.
The Nobel Committee has awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned Belarusian human rights lawyer Ales Byalyatski, the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties and the human rights organization Memorial. This was dissolved last year on the instructions of the Russian authorities because it is said to have violated the law. The organization campaigned for the politically persecuted and prisoners and clarified crimes committed by the communist tyranny.
Co-founder Scherbakowa currently holds a visiting professorship at the University of Jena. "I very much hope that our university in Jena, albeit a place of exile, will give you the peace and space to continue working on things that are personally important to you," emphasized Ramelow.
