Egyptian human rights defender Mozn Hassan, who shared the 2016 Right Livelihood Award with her organisation Nazra for Feminist Studies, will receive her prize in Cairo next March.
Hassan was unable to attend the award ceremony in Stockholm on 25 November 2016 due to a travel ban imposed on her and several other prominent activists by the Egyptian authorities. Since then, the judiciary has initiated a move to freeze Hassan’s and Nazra’s assets, which five UN experts have condemned and described as reinforcing “a pattern of systematic repression of the Egyptian women’s rights movement, aiming to silence and intimidate those working tirelessly for justice, human rights and equality.” A verdict on the request to freeze Hassan’s assets is expected on 11 January 2017.
“The Right Livelihood Award Foundation is extremely concerned by the latest developments concerning our 2016 Laureate Mozn Hassan and Nazra for Feminist Studies. In a show of solidarity with Hassan and other Egyptian civil society activists who have been prevented from travelling freely abroad, the Foundation will send a high-level delegation to Cairo to present her with the Right Livelihood Award instead,” said the Foundation’s Board Chair Monika Griefahn.
The delegation will include European Parliamentarians, fellow Laureates and the Foundation’s Board Chair Monika Griefahn. The award will be presented at a ceremony in Cairo in March 2017.
“Celebrating the award in my country is important to Nazra’s team and myself to receive recognition for all we have done, while the state is punishing us for it. It is a message to all the world that solidarity can reach you wherever you are even with a travel ban imposed on myself,” said Mozn Hassan, founder of Nazra for Feminist Studies.
Mozn Hassan has been investigated under Case no. 173 for the year 2011, known as the “NGO Foreign Funding” Case, and was summoned to appear before the investigating judge on 29 March 2016. Since May 2016, she has been under a travel ban by the General Prosecutor’s order. These arbitrary measures have been condemned by three UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights.
“Next March will mark one year since Mozn Hassan has been dragged through the courts on trumped up charges, and she has since faced undue restrictions on her fundamental rights to freedom of assembly and association. We hope that Mozn Hassan’s international recognition as a Laureate of the Right Livelihood Award will resonate back home, in Egypt, where her work helps empower women and promote human rights,” added Monika Griefahn.
Mozn Hassan and Nazra for Feminist Studies were recognised with the Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’, in September 2016 for “asserting the equality and rights of women in circumstances where they are subject to ongoing violence, abuse and discrimination”.
Her fellow 2016 Right Livelihood Award Laureates were Syria’s White Helmets, Russian refugee advocate Svetlana Gannushkina and Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet.
For more information, please contact:
International media: Sharan Srinivas, Director of Research and Advocacy, sharan@rightlivelihood.org or +46 73 550 6533
Swedish-speaking media: Johannes Mosskin, Public Relations Advisor, johannes@rightlivelihood.org or +46 70 437 11 48
About the Right Livelihood Award
The Right Livelihood Award was established in 1980 to “honour and support courageous people and organisations offering visionary and exemplary solutions to the root causes of global problems”. It has become widely known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’ and there are now 166 Laureates from 68 countries. In addition to presenting the annual awards, the Right Livelihood Award Foundation supports its Laureates, particularly those who may be in danger due to the nature of their work. Jakob von Uexkull, a Swedish-German professional philatelist, sold his business to provide the original funding. Since then, the awards have been financed by individual donors. The four 2016 Right Livelihood Award Laureates will share the cash award of SEK 3 million (ca. EUR 320 000).
Press release in PDF : PR Mozn Hassan Award Cairo