Three candidates shortlisted for 2024 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize

The selection panel of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize chose its list of three nominees on Tuesday. They are the currently detained Azerbaijani human rights defender and political activist Akif Gurbanov, the leading Venezuelan political figure María Corina Machado, who is engaged in denouncing human rights abuses in her country, and Babutsa Pataraia, a leading feminist activist and human rights lawyer in Georgia.

The winner of the EUR 60,000 annual award, which focuses on human rights defenders worldwide, is set to be announced at the opening of the autumn plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on September 30.