The Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk honours five regional laureates each year for their courageous work
Six years behind bars have not prevented Indian student activist Umar Khalid from being recognised for his human rights work. Khalid, who has been in prison for his alleged role in the 2020 Delhi riots, is one of five recipients of the 2026 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk.
In a press statement, Front Line Defenders says that it recognised Khalid’s work in the civil movement opposing amendments to India’s citizenship laws and his advocacy for the rights of students, minorities and citizens.
The statement adds that several international human rights organisations and the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention have raised concerns about his arrest and detention.
Also Read: Denial of bail to Umar Khalid & Sharjeel Imam by Supreme Court criticised
Khalid remains in custody and could not travel to Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, where the awards were presented today. The ceremony was attended by diplomats, Irish government representatives, civil society organisations and media.
“We won’t respond to violence with violence. We won’t respond to hate with hate. If they spread hate, we will respond to it with love,” says Khalid.
He received the Asia and the Pacific award alongside four other laureates representing different regions.
Laurinda Manuel Gouveia of Angola was recognised for her work on women’s rights, fundamental freedoms and participatory democracy. She co-founded the Balumukenu Association in 2021, which trains young people, documents rights violations and promotes civic participation. She has been arrested several times and once spent 73 hours in a police cell with her seven-month-old baby.
Brazil’s Adda Vyctoria Caetano, a trans Black Quilombola woman from Ceará, was recognised for her work defending Quilombola rights and LGBTQIAPN+ participation. She has faced threats, online attacks and attempts to undermine her public leadership, says the statement.
Also Read: After half a decade without trial, Umar Khalid’s case under scrutiny
Serbian feminist and peace activist Ljiljana Nešić received the Europe and Central Asia award for more than three decades of work supporting women facing domestic and intimate partner violence and campaigning for gender equality and access to justice. She has faced detention, threats, hacking and defamation. Her home was broken into and ransacked in December 2025.
Iranian Kurdish human rights defender Ahmadreza Haeri received the Middle East and North Africa award for his campaign against the death penalty and work on prisoners’ rights. He was released on September 9 after more than three and a half years in prison but remained unable to travel to Dublin because of security concerns.
“There is a powerful wave of people who believe there is a better path despite the worrying state of affairs for human rights defenders (HRDs) around the world today; a wave of those who believe in a brighter future. This year’s laureates are emblematic of this wave of positive change. These laureates represent the defenders from every corner of the world who are courageously and peacefully standing up for justice and equality. Arbitrary detention, torture, death threats, judicial harassment, smear campaigns: these are some of the hazards of standing up for human rights and, still, these laureates have refused to stay silent,” says Alan Glasgow, CEO of Front Line Defenders.
