Copenhagen, Denmark ( Associated Press) – Iran’s ambassador has been excluded from this year’s Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm due to the “grave and worrying situation” in the country, the private foundation that administers the awards announced Friday. prestigious award.
Earlier in the week, envoys from Russia and Belarus were banned from the grand event because of the war in Ukraine.
“We believe that given the grave and worrying situation, the Iranian ambassador should not be invited to the Nobel Prize ceremony,” the Nobel Foundation said in a statement. Ambassadors stationed in Sweden are usually invited to the annual event on 10 December.
Under the slogan #WomanLifeFreedom (#MujerVidaLibertad), the mobilization first focused on women’s rights and the state’s obligation that women cover their heads with the hijab, or Islamic veil. But they quickly turned into calls for the toppling of Shia clerics who have ruled the country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The protests have also attracted university students, unionists, prisoners and ethnic minorities, such as the Kurds who live along the border with Iraq. According to rights groups, since the beginning of the march, security forces have used ammunition and tear gas to disperse protesters, killing more than 200 people.
The foundation also said this week that it would follow the tradition of inviting all political leaders represented in the Swedish parliament, except the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats. After the general election on 11 September, the party is the second largest in the Chamber and a close ally of the new centre-right government. Moreover, he has tried to distance himself from his far-flung roots.
The Nobel Prizes are awarded on December 10, 1896, on the death anniversary of its founder, Alfred Nobel.
