Strasbourg, France, 10 October 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Imprisoned Turkish philanthropist and businessman Osman Kavala was awarded the Václav Havel Prize on Monday.

"Today, more than ever, it is of paramount importance to celebrate the women and men who, by their courage, determination and strength, show us the path to freedom. Their fight is an example for all of us," said Tiny Kox, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) which bestows the award.

Kavala's wife Ayşe accepted the prize worth €60,000 ($63,400) on his behalf, reading a statement in which her husband dedicated the prize to his "fellow citizens unlawfully kept in prison".

Kavala was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2022 for an attempted coup in connection with anti-government protests that erupted in Istanbul in 2013.

Kavala has been in prison since 2017.

Western governments and rights groups had criticized the trial and the 2022 conviction as politically motivated.

Kavala comes from a family of entrepreneurs and has promoted numerous civil society projects in Turkey. He is the founder of the organization Anadolu Kültür.

The prize, which is named after the former Czech dissident and later president of the Czech Republic Václav Havel, has been awarded by PACE since 2013.

Other nominees for this year's prize were Polish lawyer and women's rights activist Justyna Wydrzynska and Ukrainian human rights activist Yevgen Zakharov.

Last year, the Russian opposition politician and journalist Vladimir Kara-Mursa was awarded the prize.

Photo: MIA archive