Council of Europe awards 2026 Václav Havel Prize to Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh

Award ceremony in Strasbourg

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe awarded the 2026 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize to Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh on 28 September 2026. Sotoudeh is the first Iranian national to receive the distinction, which carries a diploma, a trophy, and a 60,000 euro cash endowment presented in partnership with the Charta 77 Foundation. The assembly selected the 63-year-old lawyer from a three-person shortlist that included Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad, an exiled critic of compulsory veil laws, and Hungarian lawyer Márta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee defending asylum seekers and refugees. Parliamentary Assembly President Petra Bayr stated that all three nominees demonstrated principled courage, moral integrity, and commitment to fundamental freedoms.

Because Sotoudeh remains barred from leaving Iran, her daughter, Mehraveh Khandan Heris, attended the Strasbourg ceremony to receive the award on her mother's behalf. Addressing the assembly members, she reflected on the political atmosphere in Iran.

It is not easy to speak in optimistic terms about the future of Iran.

Video message from Tehran

Sotoudeh addressed the assembly from her home in the Saadat Abad district of northern Tehran through a recorded video broadcast during the ceremony.

In moments like this, we remember past struggles, we recall our shared ideals and we think of the individuals across the globe who stand with us. We renew the hopes we share and tell ourselves: one day, they will come true. One day, the sun of freedom will shine on our country as well.

Sotoudeh lives near Evin Prison, where her husband, graphic designer and activist Reza Khandan, remains incarcerated following his arrest in December 2024. He was detained for his advocacy against mandatory veil mandates, including printing badges with slogans opposing the rule. Sotoudeh visits Evin Prison weekly without wearing a headscarf, resulting in prison guards repeatedly turning her away at the entrance.

Decades of legal advocacy and sentences

Sotoudeh has spent decades defending political prisoners, journalists, religious minorities, and minors facing execution in Iranian courts. In 2012, while incarcerated, she won the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought alongside filmmaker Jafar Panahi. In 2019, Iranian authorities sentenced her to 33 years in prison and 148 lashes for her legal representation of women protesting compulsory hijab laws. She launched a hunger strike in Evin Prison in 2020 over prisoner conditions, the same year she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award. During the nationwide "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests in 2022, she continued public advocacy despite state restrictions.

Iranian authorities detained Sotoudeh again on 1 April 2026 on charges of propaganda against the state. Following more than a month of detention, she was released on bail in May 2026 without formal public detail on the case.

Broadened repression in Iran

The Council of Europe stated that Sotoudeh's arrests reflect a systemic campaign targeting independent lawyers and civil rights defenders across Iran. Human rights organisations report that Iranian authorities have detained thousands of people since the joint United States and Israeli military offensive against the Islamic Republic began on 28 February 2026. Iranian government reports previously acknowledged more than 3,000 fatalities connected to nationwide antigovernment protests in January 2026, which official statements attributed to foreign-backed terrorist operations.