Nobel Peace Prize winner calls for creating international tribunal on torture
Russian journalist, Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov
Chief Editor of Russia’s Novaya Gazeta newspaper Dmitry Muratov, who received the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize along with Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, has called for the creation of an international tribunal on torture, as he himself said in a lecture delivered at the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo.
“We are increasingly hearing about incidents of torture involving inmates and detainees. Torture is used to break people and punish them beyond their sentence. This is savagery. I’m coming up with an initiative to establish an international tribunal on torture that would gather information on the use of torture in various parts of the world,” Muratov pointed out.
Muratov also said that he would donate his cash award to help sick people and support independent journalism. This year, the Nobel Peace Prize comes with a cash award of ten mln kronas ($1.1million ). At Muratov’s requests, the guests of the ceremony observed a minute of silence in memory of journalists who died in the line of duty. “Let us stand to observe a minute of silence in honor of my and Maria Ressa’s colleagues who sacrificed their lives to the profession and in support of those subject to persecution,” Muratov said, wrapping up his lecture.
In October, the Nobel Committee awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to Muratov and Ressa “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” Muratov is the first Russian citizen to get the Nobel Peace Prize. President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev was granted the award in 1990.
Winners always receive the award in Oslo on December 10, the day that marks the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. Last year, the ceremony was held online due to the coronavirus pandemic.
