No Nobel peace prize for Chechen human rights activist

The Nobel prize committee has announced the peace prize winner at the press-conference held at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo: they are Muhammed Unus from Bangladesh and the Grameen Bank founded by him "for their efforts in bottom-up economic and social development," reports the "Gazeta.Ru" newspaper.

For reference, as the "Caucasian Knot" reported, the day before yesterday it suddenly became known that Lidiya Yusupova, Chechen human rights activist, had been nominated for the Nobel peace prize. Moreover, the "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" newspaper, citing the "Reuter" news agency, reported that she had been among ten most probable candidates for the prestigious prize.

Yesterday morning, on October 12, Lidiya Yusupova receiced a call on her mobile from an unknown man who threatened her in the Chechen language. "Are you happy that you have been nominated as a prize winner? You should hope to stay alive until this!" declared the caller. This has been reported by her colleague Tatiana Lokshina, chairperson of the "Demos" information and analytical center, who cited her words.

"I think that this is a very serious situation, it is frightful. Against the background of what has happened with Politkovskaya such threats sound especially convincing," says Lokshina anxiously.

"This may only be connected with one thing, Lidiya's human rights activity in Chechnya, for which she has been nominated for the Nobel prize. The caller has not named himself, nor has he identified his affiliation. I can add that her mobile telephone number has never been published anywhere. If the man has learned it he must be connected with some power structures," considers Tatiana Lockshina, expert of the International Helsinki Federation on Chechnya.

Yusupova, lawyer from Grozny, is member of the Chechen office of "Memorial" human rights center who actively participated in the search of people who had "disappeared" in Chechnya.  It is thanks to her that the story about the disappearance of eight members of Aslan Maskhadov's family in December 2004 became known.