Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh wins the 2026 Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize

Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh is one of Iran's best-known human rights activists. On September 28, she was awarded the Council of Europe's Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize.

In 2026, Sotoudeh was one of three finalists for prize. The other nominees were the Iranian-American journalist and women's rights activist Masih Alinejad and the Hungarian human rights lawyer Marta Pardavi.

The Council of Europe is honoring Sotoudeh's longstanding commitment to human rights and her work, which she has carried out at considerable personal risk.

The council said Sotoudeh campaigned against compulsory hijab laws and the death penalty, "despite repeated arrests, lengthy imprisonment and great personal risk."

Human rights lawyer Sotoudeh is committed to women's rights, the rights of political prisoners , and the abolition of the death penalty. She has represented numerous activists, journalists, members of religious minorities, and people sentenced to death .

"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," Sotoudeh said in a video statement from Tehran.

As early as 2012, she was awarded the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize, along with film director Jafar Panahi. At the time, she was in prison and was unable to accept the award in person.

In 2019, she had been sentenced to 33 years in prison and 148 lashes. One reason for the sentence was her work as a lawyer for women who had protested against Iran's headscarf mandate.