Jesuit Refugee Service finalist for Vaclav Havel human rights prize

The Maltese branch of the Jesuit Refugee Service has been named as one of three finalists for the 2014 Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize.

The panel that selects prize winner, meeting in Prague on 26 August, also named two organizations as finalists.

They are Israel's B'tselem, which defends the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians, and Azerbaijani human rights activist Anar Mammadli.

Mammadli established Secular Progress Youth Organization in 1997, and later the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS) in December of 2008, where he observed 13 elections held in Azerbaijan at national and local. Mammadli was arrested on 16 December 2013, and sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in jail, on charges that his election observation was a violation of the law in the presidential elections held in October 2013.

The US, EU, the UK and Canadian governments has called on the Azerbaijani authority to release Mammadli, who was charged with illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, and abuse of official authority to influence on the results of election. Amnesty International Organization considers Anar Mammadli to be a prisoner of conscience.

The finalists were selected from a list of 56 candidates.

The panel will designate the winner on September 28 and announce its decision on September 29.

The $79,000 prize, now in its second year, aims to reward outstanding civil society action in the defense of human rights.

The 2013 prize was awarded to Belarusian human rights activist Ales Byalyatski.