Václav Havel Prize

Iranian human-rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been awarded the 2026 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, presented annually by the Council of Europe to honour outstanding civil-society defenders of human rights. Sotoudeh is known for representing women and political prisoners in Iran and has herself faced repeated imprisonment. The award is drawing attention to her work and to the continuing crackdown on rights defenders in Iran.

Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been awarded the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, honouring her decades of work defending women, political prisoners and dissidents in Iran. Sotoudeh, who has spent years in prison for her advocacy, is among the most prominent rights defenders in the country, and the award is seen as international recognition of her perseverance despite continued pressure from Iranian authorities.