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September 29, 2025 – Ukraine –
Ukrainian journalist and human rights advocate Maksym Butkevych has been honored with the 2025 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, in recognition of his enduring courage in the face of repression.
Butkevych, a co-founder of both Hromadske Radio and the ZMINA Human Rights Center, has long championed civil liberties and inclusive civic action in Ukraine. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, he joined the armed forces as a platoon commander—despite his prior commitment to nonviolent principles.
In 2022, Russian forces captured Butkevych and, in a highly controversial trial, sentenced him to 13 years in prison on fabricated charges. He endured harsh conditions behind bars until October 2024, when he was released in a large prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia.
At a ceremony in Strasbourg on September 29, 2025, held alongside the autumn plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Prize was formally conferred on Butkevych. In his acceptance remarks, he wore a black hoodie bearing the message: “Ukrainian POW: You Are Not Forgotten.” He dedicated the award to all Ukrainian political prisoners still held in Russia and stressed that human rights should never be taken for granted.
The Václav Havel Prize, established in 2013, celebrates exceptional civil society efforts in defending human rights across Europe and beyond. The winner receives a monetary award of €60,000, a diploma, and a symbolic trophy. Butkevych is the first Ukrainian to receive this honor since its founding.
Butkevych’s journey—shifting from journalist and activist to soldier, to prisoner, and now celebrated laureate—embodies the resilience of those who risk everything to defend dignity and truth. His recognition sends a powerful signal: even in the darkest times, voices of conscience endure and demand to be heard.
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