Rights activist Irene Fernandez has bagged the 2005 Right Livelihood Award , often referred to as the alternative Nobel prize.

Fernandez, who is director of human rights group Tenaganita (Women's Force), is the fourth Malaysian to have won the award.

According to the Swedish organisers of the award which announced this year's prize winners today, Fernandez was recognised for "her outstanding and courageous work to stop violence against women and abuses of migrant and poor workers".

The 59-year-old activist is currently facing a one-year jail sentence after being convicted for "publishing false news" over the death and torture of illegal immigrants in Malaysia's detention camps.

The memorandum, which she wrote and sent to the authorities in 1995, highlighted incidences of beatings, sleep deprivation and sexual humiliation.

Fernandez has challenged the conviction in the higher court and is presently out on bail. Although the appeal was filed almost two years ago, she is still waiting for the court to set a hearing date.

An elated Fernandez told malaysiakini that the award came as a surprise.

"It is an honour and a privilege to get the award," she said.

Fernandez added that it meant a lot to her that others recognised her work, especially when she is being persecuted by the government.

The head of the Right Livelihood Award Foundation, Kerstin Bennett, told AFP she was especially pleased that Fernandez had won the prize.

"She is a very brave woman who has continued to work for poor workers even after she was sentenced to one year in prison," she pointed out.

Previous Malaysian Right Livelihood laureates are Anwar Fazal (1982), then head of Consumer Interpol, Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Mohammed Idris (1988) and Harrison Ngau (1988), a former member of Parliament who was active in campaigning on behalf of the Penan people in saving Sarawak's rainforests.

Four recipients

Fernandez shared the award, along with the prize money of SEK2 million (RM970,400), with four other recipients - Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke (Canada) and Roy Sesana (Botswana).

The jury of the award cited Barlow and Clarke for their work for trade justice and the recognition of the fundamental human right to water.

Native group First People of the Kalahari and its founder Sesana were recognised for their resolute resistance against the eviction from their ancestral lands.

Meanwhile, Toledo, who is one of Mexico's greatest living artists, was given the honorary award for protecting the architectural and cultural heritage of his native Oaxaca.

Fernandez said that her share of the prize money will go back to the community which she has long work for in the struggle for their rights.

The Right Livelihood Awards, founded in 1980, are presented to the winners annually at the Swedish Parliament.

The original endowment for the awards came from Jakob von Uexkull, a Swedish-German philatelic expert who sold his valuable postage stamps to provide the original endowment.

Von Uexkull felt that the Nobel Prizes today ignore much work and knowledge vital for our world and future.

Fernandez and the other recipients will receive their 'alternative Nobel prizes' at a presentation ceremony in Stockholm on Dec 9.

She hoped that the court would release her passport to enable her to go to Sweden for the award ceremony.

There were 77 candidates from 39 countries on the confidential list of nominations this year - four from Africa, four from Middle East, 20 from Asia, one from Australia, 26 from Europe, 12 from Latin America and 10 from North America.

Meanwhile, the Nobel Peace Prize is set to be announced October 7 in Oslo, Norway.