ANHRI, Tunisian lawyer Radhia Nasraoui and Syrian activist Mazen Darwish were honoured for their stand against dictatorships and their support for the revolutions of the Arab Spring.
(ANHRI/IFEX) – Cairo, 24 November 2011 – The lawyer and Executive Director of ANHRI, Gamal Eid, returned to Cairo in the evening of 23 November from Berlin after receiving the Human Dignity Award from German President Christian Wulff, and the President of the Foundation, Roland Berger. The award was granted by the German Foundation Roland Berger for the year 2011.
ANHRI from Egypt, Radhia Nasraoui, a lawyer from Tunisia, and Syrian activist Mazen Darwish, were honored as they were selected among 200 candidates for the award in 2011, in recognition of their role as human rights activists in their stand against dictatorships and their unrelenting support for the Arab Spring revolutions along with all pro-democracy supporters in the Arab world.
Eid, Nasraoui and Darwish received the prize in the annual celebration event, held by Roland Berger on 22 November of each year. President Wulff and the president of the foundation handed them a bronze medal symbolising a world free of violence, as well as the amount of one million Euros, divided among the three winners. The funds are intended for the development of their work and to enable them to continue their support for human rights and human dignity.
“Yes, since ANHRI was established, we have declared our bias towards democracy, the citizens and victims of abuses perpetrated by the dictator Mubarak against millions of Egyptians. We have been and will continue to be biased towards the right of Egyptian and Arab citizens to democracy and dignity, because neutrality in the countries where dictatorship reigns is a form of collusion that we cannot accept, and we will continue our support until we are granted the right to a decent life and democracy that we deserve,” said Eid.
“This honor and award are the result of hard work exerted by human rights activists and serious human rights organizations in Egypt and the Arab world, that responded strongly to the autocratic regimes and contributed seriously to the atmosphere of revolutions which broke out mainly for the defense of human dignity and social justice. We dedicate this award to the lives of hundreds of young Arabs and Egyptians who sacrificed their lives and were martyred in order for their homelands to enjoy democracy, justice and the rule of law. We pledge to spend the prize money in the activities and areas relating to the entrenchment of human rights and support for the rights of citizens to enjoy dignity, justice, democracy,” added Eid.
The Defenders of the Human Dignity Award, that was obtained by ANHRI, and was awarded by Reporters Without Borders and the Iranian lawyer Shirin Ebadi, is a confirmation of the credibility granted to it by Egyptian citizens. It also represents an appreciation by the free world of the role played by ANHRI together with other serious human rights institutions in Egypt to support human rights and defend their dignity. Moreover, it comes at a time when the Egyptian government is waging a smear campaign against human rights organizations and is aiming to retaliate against them for their roles in the overthrow of the ousted dictator. These organisations continue to address the flagrant violations under the rule of the Military Council and the government of Essam Sharaf that is still full of remnants of the corrupt and dissolved National Democratic Party. ANHRI focuses solely on the credibility and the protection of Egyptian citizens; in consequence, we dedicate this award to them and promise them to continue our defense of the right of every citizen and every oppressed person, to a decent and humane life.
