FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington - September 16, 2020 — Hong Kong’s prodemocracy movement and two groups from Sudan—the Sudanese Professionals Association, represented by Samahir Ali Othman Almubarak, and the Organization of the December Revolution Martyrs’ Families, represented by Dr. Amira Babiker Ahmed Osman—will receive the 2020 Freedom Award at Freedom House’s annual awards event on September 16, beginning at 6:45 p.m. EDT.
The organization will also present its Raising Awareness Award to actress and human rights activist Nazanin Boniadi, in recognition of her work on behalf of Iranian women, refugees, and asylum seekers.
Prominent activist and former legislator Nathan Law will speak about the movement for democracy in Hong Kong. Special remarks will also be delivered by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, recent Belarusian presidential candidate; Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives; and Marco Rubio, US senator from Florida. Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights under Law, will offer reflections on the US protests for racial justice.
“All of us here at Freedom House are deeply moved by the courage and dedication of this year’s honorees in their work on behalf of freedom and democracy,” said Michael J. Abramowitz, president of the Freedom House. “Tonight’s event is an opportunity to recognize that these diverse struggles—in Hong Kong and Sudan, as well as in Iran, Belarus, and the United States—are ultimately part of the same global effort. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and we all have a vital interest in the common cause of human freedom.”
Background:
For more than 78 years, Freedom House has worked to defend fundamental freedoms and promote democracy around the world. We analyze the challenges to democracy, advocate for greater support of civil liberties and political rights, and support frontline activists to defend human rights and promote democratic change.
Since 1943, our annual Freedom Awards have recognized outstanding leaders who have championed freedom and democracy, including His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Winston Churchill, Vaclav Havel, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Hala al-Dosari, Edward R. Murrow, and Bernard Baruch. Click here for a full list of past honorees.
For more on this year’s event and honorees, visit http://go.freedomhouse.org/e/589451/event-2020-annual-awards/4zqy7m/299372034?h=9awc6w8QZZ3g2YQ7ynS7iKffFPGlSVDBy1ZKeO7y83U.
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