Imprisoned Turkish Human Rights Defender Osman Kavala Received the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) awards this prize annually for "outstanding actions by civil society in the defense of human rights".

This information was reported on the official page of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

The award ceremony took place during the opening of the autumn plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. The award was received by the wife of the imprisoned winner, Osman Kavala.

Osman Kavala is a well-known Turkish human rights defender, philanthropist, and civil activist. In October 2017, Kavala was arrested on charges related to his involvement in the 2013 protests against the construction of Gezi Park in central Istanbul.

In 2019, the European Court of Human Rights issued a decision calling for the immediate release of the Turkish activist. It was determined that his imprisonment violated Kavala's rights and had a hidden agenda to limit his human rights activities. In 2022, the Grand Chamber of the Court confirmed that Turkey had not fulfilled its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

In a letter read by Kavala's wife during the award ceremony, the human rights defender emphasized that receiving this honor was a great privilege and dedicated it to his "fellow citizens who are illegally held in prison."

In the letter, Kavala also quoted the words of Václav Havel himself, which he wrote to his wife Olga while in prison in 1980: "The most important thing is not to lose hope. This does not mean closing one's eyes to the horrors of the world. In fact, only those who have not lost faith and hope can see the horrors of the world with true clarity."

When presenting the award, PACE President Tiny Kox emphasized the importance of recognizing men and women who, with their courage, determination, and strength, show us the path to freedom. Their struggle serves as an example to all of us.

This year, the nominees for the prize also included Polish human rights defender and women's rights advocate Justyna Wydrzyńska and well-known Ukrainian human rights defender Yevhen Zakharov, who is the head of the Board of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, director of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group, and a participant in the dissident movement of the 1970s and 1980s.

The PACE Human Rights Prize, named in honor of former Czech President and former dissident Václav Havel, was established in 2013. It can be awarded to an individual or a non-governmental organization engaged in human rights activities. The prize consists of a diploma, a medal, and a monetary award of 60,000 euros.