Kyrgyz human-rights defender awarded 2026 Raoul Wallenberg prize

Aziza Abdirasulova, a prominent human-rights defender and a pioneering independent civil society activist from Kyrgyzstan, has been awarded the 2026 Council of Europe Raoul Wallenberg prize in recognition of her efforts to protect fundamental rights with a particular focus on prisoners' rights, freedom from torture, and the right to peaceful assembly.

At the award ceremony in Strasbourg, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset recognised the great courage and determination of Ms Abdirasulova making an outstanding contribution to fundamental rights in Kyrgyzstan, often at great personal and physical risk.

"As one of the first independent human-rights defenders in Kyrgyzstan to document torture and arbitrary detention systematically, Aziza Abdirasulova has kept facts on the record when silence would have been easier. At a time when attention is drawn to geopolitical shifts and crises at the top, she reminds us that the Raoul Wallenberg prize brings the focus back to human-rights defenders."

In the spirit of Raoul Wallenberg's work, notably his single-minded determination and extraordinary courage in standing up to protect fundamental rights, the jury emphasised that Aziza Abdirasulova refused to be silenced by intimidation and harassment. Underlining the essential role of human-rights defenders in challenging times, including backsliding on human rights, the jury stressed that "her organisation Kylym Shamy has played a key role in exposing systemic human-rights violations providing legal support to victims and mobilising public opinion nationally and internationally. It has also been a vital source of credible information for the international community on human-rights issues in Central Asia. She has worked indefatigably to promote and protect freedom of assembly and the right to peaceful protest in the face of severe official restrictions on protests and public gatherings."

Receiving the prize, Aziza Abdirasulova said: "For me, like for Raoul Wallenberg, every human life saved had and has the ultimate value. Over the years of my work, I have consistently defended fundamental human rights: freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom from torture and cruel treatment, freedom of speech and opinion. This work required not only professional knowledge but also great personal courage. I happened to witness hundreds of cases of torture, and in each case, I have tried to provide whatever support I could to the victims."

Speakers at the award ceremony included the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset, the Chair of the Jury Roderick Liddell, the laureate, as well as Ambassador Harry Rusz, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the Council of Europe and Ambassador Niklas Kebbon, Permanent Representative of Sweden to the Council of Europe.

The award ceremony takes place every two years around 17 January, marking the anniversary of Raoul Wallenberg's arrest in Budapest in 1945. The Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg used his status to save tens of thousands of Jews from the Holocaust. His actions show that one person's courage and ability can really make a difference, offering inspiration to us all to speak out and act against persecution and xenophobia. His fate has remained an intriguing mystery for many years.

Starting in 2014, at the initiative of the Swedish Government and the Hungarian Parliament, the Council of Europe created the Raoul Wallenberg prize to keep the memory of his achievements alive. The prize is awarded in recognition of extraordinary humanitarian achievements by a single individual, a group of individuals or an organisation.

Former editions of the prize recognised the achievements of Elmas Arus (2014), a young Roma film director from Turkey; the Greek association Agalià (2016) from the island of Lesvos; the Budapest-based European Roma Rights Centre (2018); a Syrian doctor, Amani Ballour (2020); Vincent Raj Arokiasamy (2022), a defender of disadvantaged population of "untouchables" in India; and Neva Tölle (2024), a Croatian national who has devoted her life to protecting women from domestic violence.

The jury consists of seven independent people with recognised moral standing in the field of human rights and humanitarian action, appointed by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Hungarian Parliament, the municipality of Budapest, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Lund, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Raoul Wallenberg family.

Biography of Aziza Abdirasulova

Recommendation of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on the need to strengthen the protection and promotion of civil society space in Europe

Secretary General Alain Berset