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Mikalai Statkevich has been named the recipient of the 2026 Homo Homini human rights award. The prize was granted by the Czech organization People in Need, and the ceremony took place on 11 March in Prague during the opening of the 28th One World Human Rights Film Festival.
The award was announced by the speaker of the Czech Senate, Miloš Vystrčil. As Statkevich was unable to attend the ceremony, the prize was accepted on his behalf by his wife Maryna Adamovich. It was presented to her by Ukrainian human rights expert Mariia Tomak.
“For more than thirty years, despite imprisonment and repression, Mikalai Statkevich has tirelessly defended the right of Belarusians to live in a free and democratic country. His courage in standing up to authoritarian power inspires others and reminds us that international solidarity with those who pay a personal price for freedom has deep meaning,” said Nadiia Ivanova, director of the Center for Human Rights and Democracy.
Statkevich was sentenced in 2021 in the so-called “Tsikhanouski case” to 14 years in prison. In September 2025, he was among 52 political prisoners who were to be transported to Lithuania, but he refused to leave Belarus and ran out of the bus. After that he was held for several months in a prison in Hlybokaye — a fact that became known only after his release on 19 February. On 21 January he suffered a stroke and now has impaired speech. Statkevich is currently at home in Minsk, but his documents have still not been issued and his legal status remains uncertain.
In total, Statkevich has spent more than 12 years in Belarusian prisons.