Swedish MPs have applied to the Nobel Peace Committee to nominate Turkish human rights activist and publisher Ragıp Zarakolu for the peace prize.

The MPs said Zarakolu is a symbol formedia freedom and a human rights defender.

The application further mentioned the books Zarakolu had published on the Armenian and Kurdish issues, as well as Islam, and said his efforts, for which he was jailed, contributed to bringing cultures together.

Zarakolu is also a member of the Turkish PEN Center, as well as a recipient of numerous prestigious international awards.

He was arrested on Nov. 1, 2011, alongside prominent academic Büşra Ersanlı and dozens of other suspects upon the order of an Istanbul court over his alleged links with the KCK, the alleged urban wing of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Radikal reported.