Exclusive film images will also be shown from a filmmaker who contacted the Laureate in prison and filmed in Syria. Concert lute player Yousra Dhahbi will perform in his honour. The mayor of Geneva, Sandrine Salerno, concludes the event.
Muhannad Al-Hassani is a lawyer and outstanding defender of human rights. He is President of the Syrian Organization for Human Rights (Swasiya), which has been denied official registration. On 23 June 2010 the Damascus Criminal Court sentenced Al-Hassani to three years in prison after convicting him of "weakening national sentiment" and "conveying false news that could debilitate the morale of the nation". In fact Al-Hassani had only publicised the unfair trials of political prisoners calling for their immediate and unconditional release.
The event is co-organised with the City of Geneva, the human rights capital of the world. Swiss Television will record the ceremony led by the journalist Michel Cerutti. As a novelty the ceremony will also be broadcast worldwide on the internet in both Arabic and English (broadcast as from 18h00 GMT at: www.martinennalsaward.org). This added visibility is crucial for the cause of human rights in Syria, and for the protection of the human rights defenders in the region.
The MEA, a unique collaboration among 10 of the world’s leading human rights organizations, is the award of the whole human rights movement. The JURY is composed of the following NGOs: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, International Federation for Human Rights, World Organization Against Torture, International Commission of Jurists, German Diakonie, International Service for Human Rights, Front Line and HURIDOCS.
For previous laureates and Patrons of the MEA, see: www.martinennalsaward.org
For further information please contact: Luis Marreiros, Coordinator MEA
Tel. +41 22 809 4925, inf0@martinennalsaward.org