Per Anger Prize to Uzbekistani human rights defender

The Swedish Per Anger Prize 2010 is awarded to human rights defender Elena Urlaeva from Uzbekistan for her nonviolent and unselfish struggle for human rights in her country. The prize will be presented at the Human Rights Days in Örebro on 15 November.

The Swedish government has commissioned the Living History Forum to award the Per Anger Prize annually to an individual who has, with great courage and initiative and without personal gain, acted to promote democracy and humanity.

"We trust that the prize will inspire people to take a stance, dare to speak out and show moral courage, without calculating the personal price they may have to pay. We truly need these role models," emphasizes Eskil Franck, Director of the Living History Forum.

This year’s winner, Elena Urlaeva is a member of the Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan and has been an active critic of the regime in Uzbekistan for many years. She has, for example, organized demonstrations and peaceful protests in order to draw attention to suppressed events and support persecuted journalists. On one occasion she defended the rights of people who had lost their homes in connection with a road-building project.

During her indomitable work to defend human rights and openly protest against injustices in Uzbekistan, she has been harassed, maltreated and committed to a psychiatric hospital.

The 2010 Per Anger Prize goes to Elena Urlaeva with the following motivation: "In a menacing environment she gave voice to freedom of expression and association in Uzbekistan, unselfishly, by peaceful means and with great personal courage risking her own life and health in the struggle for human rights."

Eight non-profit organizations with established contacts in the field of human rights worldwide have taken part in the nomination process by selecting the 2010 winner: UNA Sweden, Save the Children, Amnesty International, the Church of Sweden, Diakonia, Civil Rights Defenders, Reporters without Borders and the International Commission of Jurists – The Swedish Section.

The prize will be presented at the Human Rights Days in Örebro on Monday 15 November at 13:30 CET, at the Hjalmar Bergman Theatre. The prize winner will also be available for interviews in Stockholm on 11-12 November.

For interview bookings and further information, please contact Press Officer Johan Perwe at johan.perwe@levandehistoria.se or call +46 (0)702-59 38 19. Further information about the Per Anger Prize can be found at www.levandehistoria.se/english/peranger. Free Photo: www.levandehistoria.se/press/pressbilder 

The Living History Forum is a Swedish public authority which, using the Holocaust and other crimes against humanity as a starting point, works with issues on tolerance, democracy and human rights. Our main goal is to strengthen people´s determination to actively work for the principle of all people being equal. Specific missions are to inform about the Holocaust and Communist Regime´s crimes against humanity.