Kazakhstan Vadim Kuramshin to be awarded Ludovic Trarieux prize
On 20 June, the jury of the Ludovic Trarieux human rights prize announced that this year’s laureate is Vadim Kuramshin from Kazakhstan. He is a prominent lawyer and human rights defender, who currently serves a 12 year prison sentence. He defended, among others, victims of mistreatment in prison and investigated the murders of other prisoners.
He was arrested twice before he was convicted for allegedly blackmailing the district attorney’s assistant in December 2012. At the moment he is in branch EC 164/4 of the Gornyi prison, which is infamous for human rights violations.
The prize is an initiative of the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA) and the European Bar Human Rights Institute (IDHAE) and several European national and local bar associations and will be awarded in December. Earlier laureates include Muharrem Erbey from Turkey, Karinna Moskalenko from Russia and Beatrice Mtetwa from Zimbabwe.