Nobel Committee 'Finally' Chooses Worthy Laureate of Peace Prize - Assange

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has mockingly praised the decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which is responsible for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize, for choosing the right recipient of this year's prestigious award.

“The Nobel Peace prize has finally been awarded to a group that fits the criteria: the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons … It is not that ICAN, @FlickRubicon, @NukeDaveSweeney [ICAN’s board member] and company should be congratulated. Their accomplishments are undeniable. Rather, it is the Nobel committee who should be congratulated for actually choosing a group that meets the prize's criteria,” Assange wrote on Twitter.

Earlier in the day, it was announced that the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which was praised by the Nobel Committee for its work on ensuring that there is an international legal ban on nuclear weapons, similar to prohibitions against biological and chemical weapons, land mines and cluster munitions.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee, appointed by the Norwegian parliament, determines the recipient of the award Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo. In the last 10 years, the Peace Prize was awarded to former US President Barack Obama, the Colombian president who brokered a historic peace deal with the FARC rebels, the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, the EU, Malala Yousafzai (a Pakistani activist for female education) and former US Vice President Al Gore among others.