A Russian human rights veteran and her group...
Other candidates for the $1.4 million prize include a jailed Chinese dissident and the Internet for promoting dialogue and democracy.
Russia"s Svetlana Gannushkina was nominated by Norwegian politician Erna Solberg.
"I regard the nomination as reaction to the vulnerability of people in this country to arbitrary rule by authorities and to crime groups," Gannushkina told the BaltInfo agency adding her work has been an indispensible part of Memorial"s activities.
Russia"s leading rights organization came to media spotlight after the murder of its activist in the troubled North Caucasus republic of Chechnya in July and over an ensuing legal battle with the Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, who sued the group for libel after being accused of his role in the murder.
The group resumed activities in Chechnya late last year after suspending work for a short time, citing a growing risk to its staff following the murder.