Politics
(Strasbourg) The jury for the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize announced the names of the three finalists: the winner will be revealed on 10th October, at the opening session of the plenary Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The jury is chaired by Pedro Agramunt, president of PACE. Gordana Igrić is the first finalist: a Serbian journalist who fights for human rights and freedom of the press, who has specially been dealing with war crimes during the Balkan war; he founded the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. The second finalist is the Institut international des droits de l’homme-Fondation René Cassin, created in 1969, which aims at promoting peace and fundamental rights, especially through teaching and research. Finally, the third finalist is Nadia Murad, a young Yazidi woman, currently a refugee in Iraq: a human rights activist, she works to attract the world’s attention to the fate of her community, sexual slavery and the trafficking of women and children. The prize consists in a diploma and a 60 thousand euro cheque. In announcing the names of the finalists, Agramunt pointed out that “President Havel’s legacy is more important than ever now” as the “symbol of opposition to totalitarianisms and the defence of human rights”. The prize is promoted by PACE, Bibliothèque Václav Havel and Charter 77.
