Popular vote for the nominees for the Boris Nemtsov Prize has begun on the website of Novaya Gazeta. One of the 36 nominees is going to receive 10 thousand dollars "for bravery in the fight for democratic values and human rights."
The nominees' list includes human rights activists who supported defendants in criminal cases who had been tortured. For example, Irina Biryukova, a lawyer advocating former prisoners in the Yaroslavl case on tortures in a colony, or Alexandra Krylenkova, who organized a public campaign to support the defendants in the Penza Set’* (‘Network’) case.
Political prisoners, such as Vladislav Mordasov and Yan Sidorov, involved in the Rostov case and sentenced to six years in prison for an uncoordinated picket in Rostov-on-Don, and Moscow activist Konstantin Kotov, who was put in jail for participating in several unauthorized rallies, are among the nominees. Other activists nominated for the prize include Ruslan Shaveddinov, the manager of FBK who is doing military service on Novaya Zemlya.
Among the journalists, the list includes Sergey Smirnov, the editor-in-chief of Mediazona, Ilya Azar, a special correspondent of Novaya Gazeta, and Elizaveta Nesterova, a journalist.
More than a dozen public human rights organizations have participated in the nomination process. A shortlist of nominees is to be formed following the results of the vote and given to the award jury. The prize is organized by the Boris Nemtsov Foundation.
The vote will last until May 11.
