Gheorghe Briceag | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1928-04-15)April 15, 1928 |
| Died | 16 August 2008(2008-08-16) (aged 80) |
| Known for | Soviet dissident, human rights activist |
| Awards | Homo Homini Award (2004) |
Gheorghe Briceag (15 April 1928 – 16 August 2008) was aMoldovan human rights activist notable for his opposition toSoviet rule.[4] In the 1940s, Briceag was given a ten-year sentence in thegulag for distributing anti-communist flyers; he was forced to work in coal mines for the length of his sentence. His prisoner number was "P169".[citation needed] After his release, he was sentenced to seven more years of exile.[4] He later became a symbol of resistance toSoviet occupation of Moldova.[4]
In 2004, Briceag won theHomo Homini Award of theCzech NGOPeople in Need, which recognizes "an individual who is deserving of significant recognition due to their promotion of human rights, democracy and non-violent solutions to political conflicts".[5] The award citation described him as "a life-long activist for the defense of human rights and the defense of other former Gulag prisoners in Moldova".[5] The following year, he served on theRudolf Vrba Jury for People in Need'sOne World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, serving with fellow Homo Homini-winnerAles Bialacki.[6]
The same year, Briceag created controversy by opposing the re-installation of a statue ofVladimir Lenin in his hometown ofBălți. Briceag threatened to burn the statue down personally if it were completed.[7] The Supreme Court of Moldova ultimately overruled the Bălți City Council's decision to allow the statue.[6]
Briceag also worked withAmnesty International[4] and served as the Bălți coordinator of theHelsinki Committee for Human Rights.[8]
Briceag was noted for his large "Solzhenitsyn-style" beard.[7] A few months before his death, he pledged to shave it ifMoldova united with Romania,[7] a move Moldova'scommunist party opposed.[9] He publicly requested that his body be donated toChișinău'sNicolae Testemițanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy following his death.[10]