On Monday, December 1, 16 Nobel laureates addressed the leaders of the US, EU, Ukraine and Russia. They signed a letter demanding that the peace plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine include the release of all those whom international organizations recognize as political prisoners.. The letter contains proposals for pardon and exchange of people who have not committed violent crimes, reports Deutsche Welle.

“We ask you to include in the draft peace agreement a clause on the pardon or exchange of civilians recognized by international organizations as political prisoners. This should be done, first of all, for the sick, the elderly, women and adolescents,” says the laureates’ letter.

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Scientists emphasized that Russian prisons currently hold more than a thousand people “convicted under anti-war legislation”. They called on the presidents of Russia and Ukraine to “demonstrate good will and mutually pardon at least several dozen such prisoners who are in prison only for expressing personal opinions and have not committed violent crimes.”.

As Suspilne writes, among the signatories of the document are 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Alexandra Matviychuk, Russian Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov, Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich, Russian human rights activist Yan Rachinsky, Filipino-American journalist Maria Ressa.

They all stressed that human rights guarantees must remain the basis of policy.

The authors of the letter believe that the release of political prisoners will ease the path to a lasting and just peace. At the end of the appeal they reiterate that human rights, in particular the right to life, dignity and freedom, must be a central element of any negotiations and decisions.

Read more about the peace plan that US President Donald Trump called for signing in Oleg Shamshur’s article “Trump’s 28 points: how to sell Ukraine.”.