Julian Assange nominated for Nobel Peace Prize as calls for his release grow louder
The Wikileaks founder who has spent more than 1,000 days in a British prison fighting extradition to the United States, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the third time
Journalist and Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, as the movement calling for his unconditional release and against his extradition to the United States grows louder. Assange was nominated by several individuals, including members of parliament and former peace prize winners, responding to calls from Assange’s partner Stella Moris.
On January 29, a nomination was filed by German politicians Martin Sonneborn, a member of the European Parliament (MEP), and Sevim Dağdelen, a member of the German Bundestag.
In their letter to the Nobel Committee, they explained that the nomination of Assange was “in honor of his unparalleled contributions to the pursuit of peace, and his immense personal sacrifices to promote peace for all.” They further highlighted that the work of Assange and Wikileaks has contributed to international mechanisms for truth and justice such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) which has the mission to “end impunity by prosecuting ‘the worst atrocities known to mankind’: war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide.”
In addition to Sonneborn and Dağdelen, nominations were also filed by Markéta Gregorová and Patrick Breyer, MEPs from the Pirate Party, Sabrina Pignedoli, an Italian MEP, and several others.
The submissions, as well as statements by his supporters worldwide, highlight Assange’s contribution to global peace through publications of classified documents by Wikileaks on war crimes, torture, and human rights violations by the United States and its allies in Iraq and Afghanistan.
These nominations make Assange eligible for consideration for the shortlist for the prize that would be prepared between February and March. Calls for Assange to be considered for the Nobel Prize have been made several times for over the past decade.
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Anish R M
February 1, 2022
People's Dispatch