He gave voice to oppressed

The bishop of Harare, Sebastian Bakare, has received a Swedish human rights prize for “having given voice to the fight against oppression,” and for his work in promoting freedom of speech and opinion “in a difficult political situation.”

Bishop Bakare accepted the 2008 Per Anger prize at a ceremony in Stockholm on Nov. 10.

The prize, worth 150,000 krona ($23,545 Cdn.), was created in 2004 in honour of  noted Swedish diplomat Per Anger and honours people and organizations that “risk their own safety to defend the rights of the individual against oppression and inhumanity.”

The Living History Forum, which promotes issues relating to tolerance, democracy and human rights, said Bishop Bakare has “received threats as a result of his open and clear criticism of the (Zimbabwean) government and his condemnation of local police brutality and his defence of human rights” in Zimbabwe.