Ulvi Hasanli, the imprisoned director of “Abzas Media,” has been shortlisted for the 2025 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize.

The shortlist was announced at a meeting in Prague chaired by Theodoros Rousopoulos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Alongside Hasanli, the finalists include Mzia Amaghlobeli from Georgia and Maksym Butkevych from Ukraine.

Hasanli was active in politics for many years before turning to journalism. In 2016, he founded “Abzas Media” and has served as its director ever since.

Because “Abzas Media” investigated corruption involving President Ilham Aliyev, his family, and senior officials, Hasanli was sentenced to nine years in prison. He has faced arbitrary detention, torture, and politically motivated charges. In June 2025, he was handed a nine-year sentence and remains in detention under harsh conditions.

The winner of the Prize will be announced on 29 September 2025 during the opening of PACE’s autumn plenary session in Strasbourg.

The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize has been awarded annually since 2013. In 2014, the prize was awarded to Anar Mammadli, head of Azerbaijan’s Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS).