ºĂÉ«tv

“In the past year, Miss Machado has been forced to live in hiding. Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions. When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.�

President NicolĂ¡s Maduro's government routinely targeted its real or perceived opponents ahead of last year’s presidential election.

Machado was set to run against Maduro, but the government disqualified her. Edmundo GonzĂ¡lez took her place. He had never run for office before. The lead-up to the election saw widespread repression including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations.

The after the country’s ºĂÉ«tv Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared him the winner despite credible evidence to the contrary.

The election results announced by the Electoral Council sparked protests across the country to which the government responded with force and ended with more than 20 people dead. They also prompted an end to diplomatic relations between Venezuela and various foreign countries, including Argentina.

Machado went into hiding and has not been seen in public since January. A Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant for GonzĂ¡lez, who moved to Spain and was granted asylum.

Last year, Machado and GonzĂ¡lez were awarded the European Union’s top human rights honor, The Sakharov Prize.

There had been persistent speculation ahead of the announcement about the possibility of the prize going to U.S. President , fueled in part by the president himself, amplified by this week’s for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Asked about lobbying for and by Trump, Frydnes said: “I think this committee has seen any type of campaign, media attention. We receive thousands and thousands of letters every year of people wanting to say what for them leads to peace.

"This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates, and that room is filled with both courage and integrity. So we base only our decision on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.�

Last year's award went to , a grassroots movement of Japanese atomic bombing survivors who have worked for decades to maintain a taboo around the use of nuclear weapons.

The peace prize is the only one of the annual to be awarded in Oslo, Norway.

Four of the other prizes have already been awarded in the Swedish capital, Stockholm this week — in on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday and on Thursday. The winner of the prize in economics will be announced on Monday.

___

AP coverage of Nobel Prizes: