Darfur Hero: Mossaad Mohamed Ali

"For over ten years, Mossaad has been an outspoken and courageous critic of crimes against human rights that were inflicted on the most exposed people of Darfur," it said.

Darfur Activist Win Palmes


Kofi Annan, Darfur Activist Win Palmes
The Associated Press
Tuesday, January 30, 2007; 7:32 AM


STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Darfur human rights activist Mossaad Mohamed Ali won the Olof Palme Prize on Tuesday for their work to protect human rights, peace and security.

The award will be presented at a ceremony in Stockholm in May, and the two winners will share the $75,000.

The Palme memorial fund board, which selects the winners, cited Annan's courage and involvement during his U.N. leadership, saying he had "given proof of the utmost integrity" while also defending U.N. principles and international law when those were challenged.

"His fight for human rights, and his way of stressing that development is a necessary part of the work for security, has left indelible traces in the world o0rganization."

The board said Mohamed Ali's work to coordinate The Amel Centre for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture has "concerned hundreds of thousands of war victims."

"For over ten years, Mossaad has been an outspoken and courageous critic of crimes against human rights that were inflicted on the most exposed people of Darfur," it said.

Last year's prize went to Russian human rights advocates Ludmila Alexeyeva, Sergej Kovalyov and recently slain Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya for their efforts to promote democracy in Chechnya.

The Palme award is endowed by the family of the murdered Swedish prime minister and the governing Social Democratic Party and was set up to honor efforts carried out in Palme's spirit. The prize is typically presented by Palme's widow Lisbet.

Palme was gunned down in central Stockholm on Feb. 28, 1986, as he and his wife walked home unguarded from a movie theater. The killer has not been caught.