“Viasna” website wins National Human Rights Award

The Organizing Committee of the National Prize of the Belarusian human rights activists called the names of the winners. Elena Tonkacheva was declared the human rights activist of the year, Liudmila Kazak – the lawyer of the year, and the journalists of the year became Alena Pankratava and the website of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna”, which was deprived of the state registration by the authorities in 2003.

The award winners are determined collectively by nine Belarusian human rights organizations, including the NGO "Belarusian Association of Journalists", Belarusian Helsinki, HRC “Viasna”, "Human Rights Alliance" etc., as well as former recipients of the award.

The award is presented to Belarusian human rights activists onthe Human Rights Day to encourage the individuals who have made the greatest contribution to the protection of human rights during the year.

According to the author the of the idea of the award, Liudmila Hraznova, this year there were many worthy candidacies. However, after a discussion and voting the organizing committee decided to award the following persons:

Chair of the Center for Legal Transformation Elena Tonkacheva as the human rights activist of the year;
Liudmila Kazak as the lawyer of the year;
the author of the program “Freedom in Prisons” Alena Pankratava and the editorial board of the website of the Human Rights Viasna”, who continues acting despite the annulment of its state registration in 2003.

Let us remind that in the previous years the award was presented to journalists Siamion Pechanko, Aleh Hruzdzilovich, Uladzimir Hrydzin, Yuliya Darashkevich, Andrei Pachobut, as well as the program “I Have a Right” of the TV channel “BelSat”.


According to the press-service of the Belarusian Association of Journalists