WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has filed a criminal complaint in Sweden against the Nobel Foundation following Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize. Assange accused 30 officials linked to the foundation of turning “an instrument of peace into an instrument of war.”
According to the complaint shared by WikiLeaks on social media, this year’s prize represents a “gross misappropriation” of funds and the “facilitation of war crimes” under Swedish law.
Assange argued that Machado’s win violates the 1895 will of Alfred Nobel, which stipulates that the award must go to the individual who has 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.”
He also called for the freezing of the 11 million kroner ($1.18 million) in prize money pledged to Machado, citing a “real risk” that the funds could be “diverted from their charitable purpose to facilitate aggression, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.”
