Olga Karach, human rights activist and head of the International Center for Belarusian Civil Initiatives “Our House” (Mūsų Namai/Nash Dom), has been honored with the prestigious Ludwig Baumann Prize, awarded for outstanding contributions to the fight against war and militarism. The award ceremony will take place on October 4, 2024, at 8:00 PM at the Youth Center in Halle (Saale).

The prize, established by the Karl von Ossietzky Solidarity Fund and the German Peace Society – United War Resisters (DFG-VK), is named after Ludwig Baumann (1921–2018), who deserted the German Navy in 1942 after realizing the criminal nature of Nazi warfare. In 1990, he founded the Federation of Victims of Nazi Military Justice and succeeded in overturning unjust sentences against deserters and other victims of the Nazi military system.

Olga Karach was sentenced by a Belarusian court to 12 years in prison and fined €170,000 for her active struggle against Alexander Lukashenko’s regime, her support for democracy and human rights, and her condemnation of Belarus’s participation in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Olga Karach has been labeled a terrorist in Belarus and could face the death penalty there. Currently, Olga Karach is in exile in Lithuania, where she and her relatives face the pressure from Lithuania for her active human rights work..

Along with Olga Karach, other international activists will be honored. Among them is the Russian movement of conscientious objectors, which continues to help young people avoid military service despite being persecuted as “foreign agents” by the Russian authorities, and the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, whose members also face repression for their anti-war positions.

The award ceremony will be accompanied by a speech from Cornelia Mannewitz of DFG-VK. Sculptures for the prize were created by Werner Mormann-Dressel from the village forge of Blankenfelde. The event is open to all.

 

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