The Council of Europe today has decided to award the Vaclav Havel Award for the defense of human rights to Ukrainian journalist Maxim Butkevic, released last year after his arrest by Russian forces.
The award, named after the former dissident and then Czech President, has been awarded since 2013 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (CCC), which unals 46 countries and is the guardian of the Republic and human rights on the European continent. Russia was eliminated by the Council of Europe after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
After volunteering in Ukrainian forces after the Russian invasion in February 2022, Maxim Butkevic was arrested and then sentenced to 13 years in prison a year later by Moscow forces, before being released in October 20.
He is the founder of the Independent Hromadske Radio radio station and by the co -founders of the Zmina Freedom Defense Center.
Two other journalists, Georgian Mzia Amaghlobeli and Azeros Hasanli, who are in custody, were also candidates for the prize.
“It’s no coincidence,” said the chairman of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly Theodoros Roussopoulos, referring to the nominations of journalists for the Havel Prize. “The recent months have proven to be particularly dangerous to journalists,” he said, stressing that 171 journalists were detained in Europe at the beginning of the year, including at least 26 Ukrainians, who were held in Russia or the territories occupied by Moscow in Ukraine.
Source :Skai
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