November 20, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja was selected as a winner of Index on Censorship 2025 Freedom of Expression Awards, the group reported on its website.
The award ceremony took place yesterday in London. The Belarusian politician received the Trustee award for campaigning for the return of Belarusian democracy and advocating for jailed Belarusian dissidents.
Algerian jailed activist Mohamed Tadjadit, Turkey’s Saturday Mothers peaceful protest movement and Venezuela’s veteran journalist Carlos Correa received awards in other categories.
This year’s winners remind everyone of “extreme courage at a time when all around us darkness seems to be descending,” said Jemimah Steinfeld, CEO of Index on Censorship. “May their stories act as examples for all of us, including those of us in the United Kingdom who have fortunately been able to take basic rights largely for granted, but who are now seeing that nothing, not even freedom of expression, is guaranteed.”
The 2025 awards honor the individuals and groups who, while often overlooked by the international community, demonstrate to the world how to resist rising authoritarianism and populism, the group said.
The London-based Index on Censorship is an NGO campaigning for freedom of expression.
