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Anar Mammadli wins 2014 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize

September 29, 2014

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Today, Azerbaijani human rights defender Anar Mammadli was ceremonially announced as laureate of the 2014 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. The award is presented by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library and the Charter 77 Foundation.

Anar Mammadli Anar Mammadli is a renowned Azerbaijani human rights defender who has made a marked contribution to the respect of human rights and free elections in his region. He is founder and chairman of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre (EMDS), which since 2001 has monitored votes in Azerbaijan. In December 2013, Anar Mammadli was charged with “abuse of office” and this May was sentenced to five and a half years in prison.

The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize draws attention to extraordinary actions in the field of human rights in Europe and elsewhere. It is presented annually by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Coun-cil of Europe in partnership with the Václav Havel Library and the Charter 77 Foundation. It comes with a monetary award of EUR 60,000.

The Václav Havel Library has organised an international conference in honour of the laureate; Human Rights 25 Years After will take place at the Prague Crossroads on 1 October, 2014. Alongside this year’s three finalists, last year’s winner, Ales Bialiatski, will also attend. Mr. Bialiatski was unjustly imprisoned at the time his prize was presented but was released this summer under a presidential amnesty.

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