The 8th Václav Havel Human Rights Prize was awarded on Monday to Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain Al-Hathloul. Released after 1,001 days in prison, the laureate was unable to appear via video conference at the ceremony organised by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as she is banned from public expression. Her sister Lina, who lives in Brussels, intervened on her behalf.
“International support is the only way we can expose the injustices in my country and protect the victims. Thank you for giving us the strength to continue our fight”, she said after paying tribute to the courage, resilience and conviction of her sister, who was “kidnapped, illegally imprisoned, brutally tortured, placed in solitary confinement for months” and who is “now sentenced as a terrorist”.
The other two nominees were the Sisters of the Drupka Order in Nepal, a group of Buddhist nuns who promote equality, respect for the environment and tolerance, and Congolese human rights activist Julienne Lusenge, who is involved in the fight against violence against women -
an all-woman panel, for the first time in the history of the Prize, created in 2013. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)