Mart-Olav Niklus
Mart-Olav Niklus (born September 22, 1934 in Tartu ) is an Estonian biologist and human rights activist who was a member of the Estonian Parliament from 1992 to 1995 .
Life
Niklus studied biology with a focus on ornithology at the University of Tartu and worked as a translator of scientific literature. In 1958 he was arrested for the first time for oppositional activities after he had sent photos of jammers for publication in western countries and criticized the Soviet reality in the voice of America . He spent the years 1959 to 1966 in camp custody in Mordovia and the central prison in Vladimir .
In 1974 Niklus translated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into the Estonian language , for which he was arrested again in 1976. From 1977 to 1980 he participated in numerous letters of protest against the Soviet tyranny , including the Baltic appeal of August 23, 1979, the petition against the invasion of Soviet troops in Afghanistan of January 17, 1980, the protest against the exile of Andrei Sakharov of August 3 , 1980 . February 1980 and defense letters for Aleksander Ginsburg and Juri Orlow in early 1977, for Viktoras Petkus on November 14 and 20, 1977 as well as for Tatiana Velikanowa, Gleb Jakunin and Antanas Terleckas in November 1979. In 1980 he was arrested again and in 1981 he was sentenced to ten years as well sentenced to five years' exile . While in custody, he took part in hunger strikes and resistance campaigns, and in 1982 joined the Ukrainian Helsinki Group as a foreign member .
After numerous protests at home and abroad, in which, supported by members of the German ISHR around Egon Kunze , the release of political prisoners was demanded, Mart-Olav Niklus was released from prison in 1988 and fully rehabilitated in 1990.
Niklus took an active part in regaining Estonian independence and became an honorary member of the group promoting the publicity of the Hitler-Stalin Pact . From 1990 to 1992 he was a member of the Estonian Congress and the Estonian Committee, from 1992 to 1995 he was a member of the Estonian Parliament .
Niklus is a member of numerous Estonian and international organizations, including the Estonian Nature Conservation Association, the Estonian Ornithological Association, the Estonian Association of Former Political Prisoners and the International Society for Human Rights . From 1990 to 1992 he was chairman of the Estonian Foundation for Nature Conservation. In 1996 he was awarded the Order of the State Coat of Arms, 2nd class, for his contribution to the liberation of Estonia . He also received the Lithuanian Order of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas III in 1999 . Degree.
Niklus lives in retirement in Tartu.
literature
- Wojciech Roszkowski, Jan Kofman: Biographical Dictionary of Central and Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century . ME Sharpe, Armonk, New York 2007 ( books.google.de ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mart-Olav Niklus - dissidents.eu - Biographical Lexicon. Retrieved December 15, 2017 .
- ↑ Michael Dobbs: ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF MART NIKLUS . In: Washington Post . October 17, 1988, ISSN 0190-8286 ( washingtonpost.com [accessed December 15, 2017]).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Niklus, Mart-Olav |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Estonian biologist and member of parliament |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 22, 1934 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tartu |