斯诺登被推荐为诺贝尔和平奖候选人

瑞典优密欧大学社会学教授史蒂芬•斯瓦尔福斯日前推荐曝光美国国家安全局“棱镜计划”的爱德华•斯诺登为诺贝尔和平奖候选人。史蒂芬教授致信挪威诺贝尔委员会，称斯诺登为了揭露美国的网络间谍活动“不计个人安危，做出了英雄壮举”， 并且“帮助世界变得更美好更安全一些”。不过，斯诺登已经错过了2013年诺贝尔奖的推荐期（2月1日之前），但他很有可能出现在2014年的诺贝尔和平奖候选名单中，因为史蒂芬教授是“有资格”向诺奖委员会推荐候选人的人士之一。另外，去奥斯陆领奖对斯诺登来说也是个问题，因为不久前挪威已决定拒绝为斯诺登提供庇护。

诺贝尔和平奖于1901年首次颁发，至今已有100人获颁该奖。其他几个奖项分别为物理、化学、医学和文学。有资格向诺奖委员会推荐候选人的各界人士包括：国家政府及议会成员，国际法庭成员，大学校长，社会学、历史、哲学、法律以及神学教授，和平研究学会以及外交政策学会负责人，诺奖获奖者，以及诺奖委员会活跃成员等。

A sociology professor in Sweden has recommended NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In a letter addressed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee and published in Swedish newspaper Västerbottens-Kuriren, Professor Stefan Svallfors nominated Snowden for his 'heroic effort at great personal cost' shedding light on the expansive cyber-spying conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency.

Because of his bravery, Snowden 'helped to make the world a little bit better and safer,' Svallfors wrote.

A nomination for Snowden would be symbolic because it shows 'that individuals can stand up for fundamental rights and freedoms.'

Svallfors compares Snowden's act to the rulings in the Nuremberg trials of 1945 because 'I was just following orders' was not held as a viable excuse for the Nazis who carried out human rights atrocities.

Svallfors also believes this will help the Peace Prize regain some of respect it lost after prematurely awarding Barack Obama the award in 2009.

'It would show its willingness to stand up in defense of civil liberties and human rights, even when such a defense [could] be viewed with disfavor by the world's dominant military power.'

But it may be too late for Snowden to receive the award this year.

Nominations for laureates must be postmarked no later than February 1 for consideration in the following December's prizes.

Between the months of March and August the advisers review the short list of candidates.

However, Svallfors' nomination should be taken seriously by the committee for next year's prize.

As a sociology professor at Umeå University, he counts as one of the 'qualified' people who can send their nominations to the committee.

These qualified people include: members of national assemblies and governments of states; members of international courts; university rectors; professors of social sciences, history, philosophy, law and theology; directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy institutes; recipients of the prize; board members of organizations that have been awarded the prize; active members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee; former advisers of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

The Nobel Peace Prize was started in 1901 and has been awarded to 100 individuals

It was the last prize described in Alfred Nobel's will, which left most of his fortune to the creation of the prizes. Other Nobel Prizes are awarded in the areas of physics, chemistry, medicine and literature.

The peace prize is awarded each year to 'the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.'

Though Snowden is eligible for nomination for the December 2014 prize, it's unlikely he'd be able to travel to Oslo for the award ceremony.

Snowden applied for asylum in Norway on July 2, but the country then planned to reject it according to their national law.

'According to Norwegian law, one can't seek asylum abroad and the normal procedures stipulate that the asylum application from Edward Snowden will be rejected,' Paal Loenseth, Norwegian state secretary told news agency NTB.

If Snowden is awarded the prize in 2014, he would be the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate in the history of the prize.