Azerbaijani human rights activist Anar Mammadli won the second Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, beating Malta’s Jesuit Refugee Service.
The Jesuit Refugee Service was one of three organisations shortlisted for the annual prize, which was announced yesterday. It is the Maltese branch of the global Jesuit Refugee Service, a non-governmental organisation working to protect the human rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants through legal advice, psychosocial support and humanitarian assistance as well as strategic litigation and advocacy.
The B’Tselem Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights was the third nominee.
The €60,000 prize rewards outstanding civil society action in the defence of human rights in Europe and beyond and was awarded to Mr Mammadli’s father, Asaf Mammadov, as the activist is in prison.
The ceremony took place yesterday at the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg, on the opening day of the autumn plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
All three nominees merit our highest consideration
Anne Brasseur, who chairs the selection panel, said Mr Mammadli’s commitment “lies in the area of promoting democratic institutions and civil and political rights”.
She had words of praise for B’Tselem Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights and the Jesuit Refugee Service, which were awarded diplomas.
“All three nominees merit our highest consideration,” she said.
Mr Mammadli is founder and chairman of an influential and experienced organisation in Azerbaijan dedicated to observing elections. Since 2001, his Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre has been carrying out independent election monitoring in Azerbaijan and he has contributed to programmes and events on the monitoring of elections, participation and education of voters and the design of materials and reports during 13 elections in Azerbaijan.
He was arrested in December 2013 on charges of “abuse of power” and other matters and sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison in May 2014.
This year, 56 nominations for the prize were received.