Sangadzieva: Gannushkina uses every opportunity to help particular people

Inna Sangadzhieva, project coordinator of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee for the former USSR, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the Andrei Sakharov's Award was adjudged to Svetlana Gannushkina, Chair of the "Civil Assistance" Committee, for her whole-hearted and self-sacrificing help to particular victims of rough violations of human rights.

"As of today, Ms Gannushkina is one of the most active human rights defenders. She is dedicating all her life, almost 24 hours a day, to helping particular persons. First of all, she thinks about people, and after all the others - about herself," Ms Sangadzieva explained the motives according to which the Board of the Helsinki Committee in Oslo had nominated the Russian human rights activist for the Award.

Inna Sangadzhieva has also said that Svetlana Gannushkina keeps working with refugees from Chechnya, Ossetia, South Caucasus and Central Asia, she is constantly raising the problems of nationalism in Russia and lobbying the interests of ordinary people at her meetings with Russian and international politicians.

She has also noted that while choosing the laureate, attention was given to the fact that Ms Gannushkina continues her human rights activities despite danger and threats. In particular, Inna Sangadzhieva has reminded, that last year the leader of the "Civil Assistance" was included by Russian ultra-right-wingers into the "list of death convicts" as "an enemy of the Russian nation", and Anna Politkovskaya, journalist of the "Novaya Gazeta", who had been in the same list, was later assassinated.