Tikhanovskaya receives peace prize in Germany

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Belarus's exiled opposition leader, was awarded a German peace prize on Saturday, reported dpa.

The board of trustees decided to honour Tikhanovskaya with the Lothar-Kreyssig peace prize for her courage, as a representative of the democracy movement in her country, it said.

The 39-year-old opposition politician wasn't present during the award ceremony in the city of Magdeburg but sent a video message to thank the committee for the accolade.

Tikhanovskaya had been prepared to take a high personal risk in standing up for her beliefs in the decisive moment, the committee said.

Tikhanovskaya came to international attention as one of the top opposition activists to emerge in Belarus' last year's pro-democracy protests.

Her bid to supersede incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko in the country's elections, widely considered to have been rigged, had strengthened the role of Europe in Belarus and in Eastern Europe, encouraging many to protest peacefully, the committee said.

Tikhanovskaya, who currently lives in exile in Lithuania, met German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for talks in Berlin on Thursday.

The Lothar Kreyssig Peace Prize, endowed with 3,000 euros (3,400 dollars), is awarded by the Protestant Church District of Magdeburg.

It commemorates Lothar Kreyssig (1898-1986), a German judge who campaigned against anti-Semitism. The prize is awarded every two years to individuals or groups who have rendered outstanding services to reconciliation.