Batwa defender Pierre Claver to receive Martin Ennals Award 2007 for his courageous work against human rights violations.

Below are extracts from an article published by Earth Times:

WASHINGTON, 3 May 2007 - Amnesty International, as one of the members on the Jury of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA), announces that the 2007 Laureates are:

Pierre Claver Mbonimpa served as a policeman in Burundi until December 1994. He spent two years in prison on the basis of false accusations. Upon his release, he founded non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to help protect the rights of prisoners, including the 9,000 prisoners that have been waiting for trial for years in the country's overcrowded jails. He has campaigned fearlessly against torture, and organized events where police and military representatives have had to face public questions from human rights activists and victims. When civil society members and journalists were arrested recently, he again spoke out despite the risks. In a fragile country, where civil war has claimed thousands of lives, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa is often hailed as the only person who stands up for the rights of Hutu, Tutsi and Batwa. He is outspoken about human rights violations, even in the public media.

The Chairman of the Jury of the MEA, Hans Thoolen, describes the laureates as "symbols of the human rights movement in their respective countries, where standing up for human rights and democracy is a dangerous activity". He draws attention to the laureates' principled stand to effectively cover abuses committed by both sides in the conflict. The eleven organizations on the Jury of the Martin Ennals Award call on the Governments of Sri Lanka and Burundi to ensure the safety of the Laureates and allow them to work without harassment. The Ceremony of the Martin Ennals Award will take place in Geneva in October.

MEA: the main award of the human rights movement. The Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA) is a unique collaboration among eleven of the world's leading human rights organizations to give protection to human rights defenders worldwide. The Jury is composed of the following NGOs: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, International Federation for Human Rights, World Organization Against Torture, International Service for Human Rights, Front Line, International Commission of Jurists, Diakonie Germany, International Alert and Huridocs.