OSLO, Norway (AP) — The head of the Norwegian Nobel Institute said peace prize laureate Maria Corina Machado will not attend the awards ceremony in Oslo on Wednesday.
The institute's director, Christian Berg Harpviken, told public broadcaster NRK that the Venezuelan opposition leader was not in the Norwegian capital on the day of the ceremony and her daughter would accept the award on Machado's behalf.
The institute did not immediately respond to emails or calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.
A day earlier, a press conference that Machado was supposed to attend was canceled. She last appeared in public 11 months ago.
Machado went into hiding and has not been seen in public since Jan. 9, when she was briefly detained after joining her supporters in a protest in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.
The 58-year-old's victory in her fight for a democratic transition in her South American country was announced on October 10 and she was described as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amidst the gathering darkness.”
Machado won the opposition primary and intended to challenge President Nicolas Maduro in last year's presidential election, but the government barred her from running for the presidency. Her place was taken by retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez.
The lead-up to the July 28, 2024 elections saw widespread crackdowns, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights abuses. The figure rose after the country's National Electoral Council, made up of Maduro supporters, declared the incumbent president the winner.
Gonzalez sought asylum in Spain last year after a Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant for him.
UN human rights officials and many independent rights groups have expressed concern about the situation in Venezuela and called for Maduro to be held accountable for the crackdown on dissent he has intensified.
