(AGENPARL) – Tue 26 August 2025 Image
PRESS RELEASE
Communication Division
PACE 064 (2025)
Three candidates shortlisted for the 2025 Václav Havel Prize
Meeting in Prague, the panel – made up of independent figures from the world of human rights* and chaired by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Theodoros Rousopoulos – decided to shortlist the following three nominees, in alphabetical order:
Mzia Amaghlobeli, Georgia
Mzia Amaghlobeli has been a pioneering Georgian journalist since 2000 and co-founder of the independent media outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti. Despite politically motivated imprisonment and harsh mistreatment following her exposure of abuses during protests, her courageous actions have helped draw attention to media repression and political abuse, aiming to ensure a democratic future for Georgia. Her arrest and subsequent sentencing in 2025 made her a symbol of press freedom and resilience in the face of government repression, highlighting the crucial role journalists play in defending human rights.
Maksym Butkevych, Ukraine
Maksym Butkevych is a Ukrainian journalist, human rights defender, and co-founder of the Human Rights Centre Zmina and Hromadske Radio. Despite his lifelong pacifism, he volunteered for the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the start of the 2022 Russian invasion and became a platoon commander. Captured and sentenced to 13 years by Russian forces, he endured over two years of harsh imprisonment before being released in a prisoner exchange in October 2024. He remains a powerful symbol of courage and resilience in defense of justice and freedom.
Ulvi Hasanli, Azerbaijan
Ulvi Hasanli is an Azerbaijani journalist and director of the independent media outlet Abzas Media since 2016. He has faced relentless government persecution since 2011, including arbitrary detention, torture, and politically motivated charges. In June 2025, Hasanli was sentenced to nine years in prison and is currently detained under harsh conditions in a remote prison, where he has endured hunger strikes and solitary confinement while continuing to embody resilience and commitment to press freedom.
Announcing the panel’s choice, the PACE President paid tribute to all defenders of human rights who, sometimes at the cost of their lives, stand firm to protect and promote fundamental freedoms and human rights. “Today, more than ever, it is of paramount importance to celebrate the women and men who, by their courage, determination and strength, show us the path to freedom. Journalists, in particular, through their courage, determination, and unwavering commitment to truth, illuminate the path to freedom and justice. Recent years have truly been the worst for journalists, marking the most devastating period in memory, with record numbers killed, injured, and detained globally. In a world where information is vital and often contested, their tireless work in defending fundamental rights and exposing truths under great personal risk, exposing abuses and holding power to account, serves as a powerful example for all of us. Václav Havel believed deeply in the power of words and the importance of journalism, stating that words can change history and that truthful expression can disrupt oppressive regimes.”
Since its creation, the Prize has been awarded in turn to María Corina Machado (2024), Osman Kavala (2023), Vladimir Kara-Murza (2022), Maria Kalesnikava (2021), Loujain Alhathloul (2020), jointly to Ilham Tohti and the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (2019), Oyub Titiev (2018), Murat Arslan (2017), Nadia Murad (2016), Ludmilla Alexeeva (2015), Anar Mammadli (2014) and Ales Bialiatski (2013). 
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Contacts:
*The members of the selection panel are Martin Bojar, physician, university teacher; Anne Brasseur, former Member of the Deputies Chamber of Luxembourg, former President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; Zuzana Čaputová, former President of the Slovak Republic; Tiny Kox, former Member of the Senate of the Netherlands, former President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; Liliane Maury Pasquier, former Member of the Council of States of Switzerland, former President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; Jiří Přibáň, Justice of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. 
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Assembly brings together 306 members from the national parliaments of the 46 member states. President: Theodoros Rousopoulos – Secretary General of the Assembly: Despina Chatzivassiliou. Political groups: SOC (Socialists, Democrats and Greens Group); EPP/CD (Group of the European People’s Party); ECPA (European Conservatives, Patriots & Affiliates); ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe); UEL (Group of the Unified European Left).
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