Human rights activists from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine were honored with this year's Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday in Oslo. The President of the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties (CCL), Olexandra Matviychuk, and the head of the Russian human rights organization Memorial, Jan Ratschinsky, accepted the awards in person. Jailed human rights lawyer Ales Byalyatski from Belarus was represented by his wife Natalya Pinchuk.

The prize was awarded to Byaljazki, Memorial and the CCL in early October. The Norwegian Nobel Committee honored her for defending essential civil rights. They went to great lengths to document war crimes, human rights violations and abuses of power. "Together they demonstrate the importance of civil society for peace and democracy," said the jury.

The Nobel Prizes go back to the dynamite inventor and prize donor Alfred Nobel (1833-1896). They are traditionally presented on the anniversary of his death, December 10th - the Nobel Peace Prize as the only one in Oslo, all others in Stockholm. This year, the award comes with prize money of ten million Swedish crowns (around 920,000 euros) per category.