Prague, Aug 25 (CTK) – Russian human rights advocate Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a women’s rights organisation in Afghanistan and a group of young people fighting for human rights in the Balkans may receive the third international Vaclav Havel Prize, organisers told journalists Tuesday.
This year’s holders will be announced in Strasbourg on September 30.
The prize is for individuals, NGOs and other institutions that fight for human rights observance.
The Vaclav Havel Prize, named after the late leading Czechoslovak dissident and first postcommunist President Havel (1936-2011), carries 60,000 euros.
It is awarded by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Vaclav Havel Library and the Charter 77 Foundation.
The Vaclav Havel Library will stage an international conference to honor him. It will be called The Story of a Refugee: Europe of Dreams and Facts and will be held in Prague on September 29.
At her age of 88, Alexeyeva is the prominent Russian human rights advocate.
In her early days, she relinquished a promising academic career, joining the Soviet dissident movement.
In the 1970, she was forced to emigrate to the USA, but in 1989, she returned to Russia.
Women for Afghan Women is the biggest umbrella NGO in Afghanistan that campaigns for the rights of Afghan women and girls in 11 provinces.
It was established on the lowest level and it helps the victims of mutilation, torture, attempted murders and rape.
The Youth Initiative for Human Rights has been working in the Balkans, protecting the victims whose human rights are suppressed, supporting the work of the judiciary in the transitional period.
