Garry Kasparov nominated Kazulin for Sakharov Prize

The leader of the United Civil Front movement, Garry Kasparov has signed a letter with a request to award Belarusian oppositionist Alyaksandr Kazulin with the European Parliament’s Sakharov prize for Freedom of Thought. Sobkor®ru has been informed about that by the press-service of the United Civil Front.

This prize is awarded annually for achievements in human rights defense, for respect of international law and development of democracy. Candidates for the Sakharov Prize are nominated by the European Parliament’s factions or groups of deputies.

In July 2006 the former candidate for presidency in Belarus Alyaksandr Kazulin was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison. Independent lawyers, human rights activists of Belarus, foreign organizations stress that the criminal prosecution and the verdict in Kazulin’s case are illegal. The international human rights organization “Amnesty International” recognized Alyaksandr Kazulin a prisoner of conscience.