Manuchehr Kholiqnazarov, Martin Ennals Award Laureate 2024

Manuchehr Kholiqnazarov has received the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.

Manuchehr Kholiqnazarov

Manuchehr Kholiqnazarov is a courageous human rights defender from the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO), Tajikistan. As Director of the Lawyers Association of Pamir and a key member of several civil society coalitions, he has tirelessly worked to protect the rights of marginalized communities in a highly challenging environment.

Manuchehr Kholiknazarov is the Director of the Lawyers Association of Pamir (LAP), one of the few civil society organizations in Tajikistan’s Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) that works to promote and protect human rights. For his role in exposing police brutality against the Pamiri ethnic minority he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.