Nobel laureates proposed adding a requirement for the release of political prisoners to the peace plan for Ukraine.

Nobel Prize laureates have initiated an action that stands out from the diplomatic noise of recent weeks. They sent an open letter to the leaders of the USA, Russia, Ukraine, and EU countries — and did so without lengthy formulas and without trying to please all sides at once. The source is Deutsche Welle, where the main theses are also published.

The key idea looks almost like a direct instruction: stop the fire. Then — negotiations. Then the exchange of prisoners of war. And in the next steps — the release of civilians, whom human rights activists classify as political prisoners. The Nobel laureates emphasize that the humanitarian block cannot be hidden under the technical details of peace, otherwise, the process loses its meaning.

They specifically mention those in the most vulnerable groups. The sick. The elderly. Women. Teenagers. This is not statistics — these are precisely the categories that receive increased attention even in peacetime. And in Russian prisons, according to “Memorial,” more than a thousand people are prosecuted under anti-war legislation. They are included in the lists of political prisoners, and this fact changes the tone of the entire letter.

There is another layer — economic. The signatories believe that if Putin and Zelensky show elementary political will and release at least a few dozen people, it will be a signal for a more sustainable peace process. A basis for statements about the value of life to stop being formal.

The letter constantly returns to the theme of human rights. It is mentioned not as a decorative detail, but as a condition for future agreements. The right to life, dignity, freedom — these are the points that, according to the authors, need to be placed at the beginning, not added at the bottom of documents.

A total of sixteen Nobel laureates have signed the letter. Among them are Svetlana Alexievich, Dmitry Muratov, leaders of organizations awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. There is also a Ukrainian part — Oleksandra Matviychuk from the “Center for Civil Liberties” and Yan Rachinsky from “International Memorial.” The list is complemented by Nobel laureates in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine. It turned out to be a broad but not blurred group.

In parallel, eleven Russian political prisoners published their letter. They ask for the immediate release of the seriously ill and to organize an “all for all” exchange between Russia and Ukraine. The wording there is significantly harsher, but both initiatives agree on one thing — humanitarian issues can no longer be delayed.

This combination of appeals forms a background that will influence diplomatic steps in the coming months. We record the key elements so that the picture is clear and without unnecessary emotional noise — this is part of the work of the editorial team NAnews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency.