Other events in Baltic States

The Seimas of Lithuania on Tuesday refused to award the annual Freedom Prize to the country's first factual leader Vytautas Landsbergis after 53 lawmakers voted in favor, 13 were against and 48 abstained, informs LETA/BNS.

Landsbergis had been nominated by a special seven-member commission.

The Freedom Prize was established on September 15, 2011 to honor individuals and organizations for their achievements in and contribution to the defense of human rights, development of democracy, and promotion of international cooperation for the cause of self-determination and sovereignty of the nations in Eastern and Central Europe.

The Freedom Prize is awarded every year on the Day of the Defenders of Freedom—13 January. The first Freedom Prize in 2011 was awarded to Sergei Kovalev, a Russian fighter for freedom and democracy and defender of human rights. The Freedom Prize 2012 was awarded to Antanas Terleckas, a founder of the political organisation Lithuanian Freedom League, initiator of the Memorandum of 45 Baltic Nationals and political prisoner. The Freedom Prize 2013 was awarded to Archbishop Sigitas Tamkevicius SJ, a fighter for the freedom of Lithuania, human rights activist, active participant in the unarmed resistance in Lithuania, political prisoner, founder and editor of the underground publication Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania, and member of the Catholic Committee for the Defense of the Rights of Believers.

And Adam Michnik, Polish public figure, former dissident, one of the leaders of Solidarity, journalist, essayist, political analyst and editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, was awarded the Freedom Prize in 2014.