2015 Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism

Yara Bader, Syria: Yara Bader, a journalist and human rights activist, works to expose the detention and torture of activists—including her husband—in war-torn Syria. She has experienced first-hand how the Syrian government uses its security and intelligence agencies to brutally crack down on independent voices. Human Rights Watch honors Yara Bader for her tremendous courage in speaking out on behalf of Syrian detainees despite grave risks to her safety.
Khadija Ismayilova, Azerbaijan: Khadija Ismayilova, a prominent investigative journalist, has dedicated her life to fighting for human rights in Azerbaijan, a country under increasingly harsh authoritarian rule, where she was recently sentenced to seven and a half years in prison after a politically motivated prosecution and flawed trial. Human Rights Watch honors Khadija Ismayilova for her extraordinary courage as a journalist and human rights activist in the face of an escalating crackdown on freedom of expression in Azerbaijan.
Nicholas Opiyo, Uganda: Nicholas Opiyo is a leading human rights lawyer and founder of Chapter Four Uganda, a human rights organization. He has successfully argued several high-level constitutional challenges, including to the notorious Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2013, which was declared null and void in August 2014. Human Rights Watch honors Nicholas Opiyo for his unfaltering dedication to upholding the human rights of all Ugandans by promoting universal access to justice.
Nisha Ayub, Malaysia: For over a decade, Nisha Ayub has championed the rights of transgender people in Malaysia through support services, legal and policy analysis, and public outreach. Human Rights Watch honors Nisha Ayub for challenging the discriminatory laws that prevent transgender people in Malaysia from living free of violence, fear, and oppression.
Father Bernard Kinvi, Central African Republic: Father Bernard Kinvi is a Catholic priest who directs the hospital at the Catholic mission in Bossemptele, Central African Republic. In early 2014, when sectarian violence devolved into coordinated violence targeting Muslim civilians, Kinvi saved the lives of hundreds of besieged Muslims, whom he gathered from their homes and sheltered in the Catholic church.
Dr. M. R. Rajagopal: Dr. Rajagopal is a leading palliative care physician from India who, for more than 20 years, has battled conditions that cause patients to suffer severe pain unnecessarily. As clinician, academic, and activist, Rajagopal is a global force behind efforts to promote and put into practice palliative care as a human right. He built the world’s most successful community-based palliative care program, and he and his organization Pallium India played a key role in convincing India’s government to make morphine accessible. Human Rights Watch hono(u)rs Dr. M. R. Rajagopal for his efforts to defend the right of patients with severe pain to live and die with dignity.