Kurd’s Leila Zana among the 2013's Nobel Peace Prize Nominees
In 1991 she was elected to the Turkish parliament where she spoke in Kurdish, which was illegal according to Turkish law.
In 1994 she was arrested an accused of treason and sentenced to 15 years in prison. This caused international protests.
She became a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International and the European Court of Human Rights protested the sentence.
Leila Zana received the Sakharov Prize from European Parliament and after pressure from the EU; she was released in 2004 after 10 years in prison.
Zana then continued her work for human rights for the Kurds in Turkey, which caused new sentences to prison for “terrorist propaganda” according to Turkish authorities.
In 2011 she again was elected to Parliament and this has so far made her immune to imprisonment.
On Friday October 11, the Nobel Committee will announce the 2013 winner of the coveted Nobel Peace Prize. The selection process is very secretive and only certain people across the globe (professors, elected government officials, Nobel laureates) can nominate an individual or organization.
The names of the nominees and other information about the nominations cannot be revealed until 50 years later.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee is responsible for the selection of eligible candidates and the choice of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. The Committee is composed of five members appointed by the Storting (Norwegian parliament). The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway, not in Stockholm, Sweden, where the Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and the Economics Prize are awarded.
There are 259 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2013. 50 of these are organizations. 259 is the highest number of candidates ever. The previous record was 241 from 2011.
