Irish activist and 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Merid Corrigan nominated WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, as well as whistleblowers Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, the Irish Times reported.
In a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Mérid Colligan said: "Individually, each country has given countless examples of courage to expose the illegal actions of governments that have resulted in the deaths of millions of people – putting their own freedom and lives at risk." In general, their self-sacrificing and selfless lives are a remarkable manifestation of the brilliance of the human spirit. ”
If Assange is convicted of all 18 counts, he faces up to 175 years in prison in the United States. Snowden, on the other hand, faces up to 10 years in prison for disclosing details of U.S. mass surveillance.
Chelsea Manning, who revealed U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, was tried in 2013 and sentenced to 35 years in prison but released after outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama commuted his sentence in 2017. The former U.S. Army intelligence analyst was imprisoned again in March 2019 for refusing to testify on a grand jury about his connection to Assange, but was released again last March and fined $256,000.
London District Judge Vanessa Baraythur ruled Monday morning that WikiLeaks founder Assange was at too high a suicide risk if handed over to U.S. authorities. Assange's supporters welcomed her decision.
If Assange is charged in U.S. courts with espionage and fraud, he faces up to 175 years in prison.
Analysts warn that Baraythur's ruling, likely to face an appeal from the U.S. government, could still be overturned, leaving Assange in a fate he had long feared.
Earlier in December, Mr. Snowden confirmed that he and his wife would apply for dual U.S.-Russian citizenship, expressing hope that they would one day return to their home country.
U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden has become a father, and wife Lindsay Mills gave birth to a baby boy. The happy couple tweeted a photo of their newborn son. His lawyers previously confirmed that the child would be granted Russian citizenship upon birth.
In 2013, Snowden revealed classified U.S. and British intelligence about extensive surveillance programs to The Washington Post and The Guardian, sparking a major international scandal. Because of the impact of his exposure, the U.S. Congress passed the Freedom Act in 2015, greatly curbing the massive collection of data.
After the illegal invasion and occupation of the sovereign state of Iraq in 2003, Chelsea Manning, disgusted by what he had read about their country's behavior, leaked thousands of pieces of evidence confirming U.S. war crimes to WikiLeaks.
Chelsea Manning risked jail time exposing war crimes. At the risk of imprisonment, Julian Assange published the leaked documents, exposing lies and heinous crimes against humanity committed by the U.S. government and military.
The question arises, which do you think Julian Assange, Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning deserve the Nobel Peace Prize? Please let me know in the comments section.