Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk Wins Human Rights Solidarity Award

The full list of winners of the Human Rights Community Award of Belarus for 2023 has been published.

The winners of the Human Rights Community Award of Belarus for 2023 have been announced, reports the Viasna Human Rights Centre. The award ceremony took place today, on International Human Rights Day, 10 December 2023.

Political prisoner Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk became the winner in the new nomination Human Rights Solidarity of the Year-2023.

Human Rights Solidarity is a new nomination. It nominates a person who has suffered repression and pressure this year and/or in previous years because of his/her activities for the promotion and/or protection of human rights in Belarus.

Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk, a mother of two, has been behind bars since 3 January 2021. Palina was sentenced to two years' imprisonment under three articles of the Criminal Code: Article 368 of the Criminal Code ("Insulting Lukashenka"), Article 369 ("Insulting a representative of the authorities"), Article 364 ("Violence or threat of violence against an employee of internal affairs bodies").

Two winners were announced in the nomination for Human Rights Defender of the Year-2023 - Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists Aleh Audzeyeu and lawyer Natallia Matskevich.

Political prisoner and editor-in-chief of the regional newspaper Aliaksandr Mantsevich was named Journalist of the Year-2023.

The BYSOL evacuation service was awarded the Human Rights Campaign/Initiative of the Year-2023.