 Yesterday in Geneva, Mr. Ilham Tohti awarded 2016 Martin Ellans Award for Human Rights Defenders for his work in China. In 2014 He was, unfortunately, sentenced to life imprisonment in China because of his work. The Syrian lawyer Razan Zaitouneh and the founder of the Violations Documentation Center in Syria was one of the three finalists alongside Mr. Tohti and Zone 9 Bloggers from Ethiopia. At VDC, we are proud to see our colleague’s name nominated. Razan has dedicated her life to defending political prisoners, documenting violations, and helping others free themselves from oppression. She always stood with the oppressed.
We consider this nomination to be a reminder of a non-forgotten cause of our four forcibly disappeared colleague since 2013; Razan Zaitouneh, Samira Khalil, Nazem Hamadi, and Wael Hamada.
We will always be hoping for their return and committed to never let go of their cause and defending human rights.
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