(JTA) – Garry Kasparov, a former Russian chess grandmaster who became a political activist, will receive a human rights award from UN Watch.
The group, which monitors the United Nations, named Kasparov the recipient of its Morris B. Abram Human Rights Award on Monday for his “long and nonviolent struggle for human rights in Russia.”
"Mr. Kasparov is not only one of the world’s smartest men, he is also among its bravest,” said UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer.
Kasparov, a native of Azerbaijan, won the world championship in 1985 at 22, the youngest person ever to win the crown. After retiring in 2005, he became involved in human rights activism in Russia and is a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin.
He will receive the award in Geneva at a dinner on June 5.
Kasparov is the son of a Jewish father and an Armenian mother.
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