Vardanyan misses out on the Havel Prize shortlist

The selection panel of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize has announced the list of finalists for 2026.

Ruben Vardanyan, the former so-called "state minister" of the Armenian separatist regime in Karabakh, whose nomination was lobbied for by certain circles, did not make it to the final.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) included three women candidates on the shortlist: Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad, Hungarian human rights defender Márta Pardavi, and Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. There was no place for Vardanyan among the nominees.

Earlier, attempts by a number of Western structures to present the Russian-Armenian billionaire as a "human rights defender" and "prisoner of conscience" had previously drawn sharp criticism from experts and the public. Analysts view these attempts as an effort to whitewash a figure directly linked to separatism, the promotion of Russian narratives, and the financing of structures that acted against Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.

As a reminder, the Baku Military Court sentenced Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years of imprisonment, finding him guilty of crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, terrorism, financing of terrorism, and other grave acts. He is currently serving his sentence. In addition, by decree of the President of Ukraine, Vardanyan has been placed on the sanctions list and in the "Mirotvorets" database, and has also been declared wanted for supporting Russian aggression against Ukraine.

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