Ruben Vardanyan Nominated for the 2026 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize
Ruben Vardanyan has been nominated for the 2026 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize.
Named after Václav Havel – the renowned Czech statesman, playwright, and human rights defender – the prize is awarded annually by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Czech Government, the Václav Havel Library, and the Charta 77 Foundation.
Established in 2013, the award recognizes exceptional contributions to the protection of human rights. Many of its previous laureates have themselves faced persecution or imprisonment for their work, including Azerbaijani human rights defender Anar Mammadli, Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala, and Yazidi activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad.
The nomination was submitted by a group of internationally recognized human rights advocates and humanitarian leaders: Vahan Zanoyan, author and anti-trafficking advocate; Marguerite Barankitse, founder of Maison Shalom; Tom Catena, physician and humanitarian; Julienne Lusenge, human rights defender from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and Mirza Dinnayi, Yazidi human rights advocate.
In their nomination letter, they describe Ruben Vardanyan as someone for whom “the protection of human dignity and human rights stands above all else.”
The nominators also highlighted his humanitarian legacy through the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, noting that his work helped protect vulnerable communities across the world and “literally save thousands of lives across various countries and continents.”
Referring to Ruben’s decision to relocate to Nagorno-Karabakh during a time of crisis, they wrote that he “risked his personal safety and a comfortable future to pursue pathways for dialogue, negotiation, and mutual understanding.”
At the same time, the letter points to the painful reality of his current imprisonment in Baku:
“By a cruel irony of fate, Ruben Vardanyan, a humanitarian and advocate for human rights, now finds himself in need of the very protection he championed for others for decades.”
The nominators conclude that awarding the prize would be “a fitting tribute to Ruben’s exceptional efforts and a vital step toward securing his release, as well as the release of the other Armenian prisoners held in Baku.”
The laureate for 2026 will be announced in September in Strasbourg during the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
The Free Armenian Prisoners Team
