Winners of the 2026 International Hrant Dink Award: Süheyla Doğan from Turkey & Raji Sourani from Palestine
Istanbul, September 16 (HNA) – The 18th International Hrant Dink Award was presented at a ceremony held on the evening of Tuesday, 15 September at the Harbiye Muhsin Ertuğrul Theatre.
The award went to Süheyla Doğan from Turkey, Süheyla Doğan from Turkey, who has never ceased to courageously defend the Kazdağları mountains and her region with all its natural and cultural assets, who fights for women’s human rights, and who continues to speak out resolutely against state-backed ecocidal projects whilst defending the right to live in harmony with nature; and Raji Sourani from Palestine, who continues his work even under conditions where documenting human rights violations in Gaza has become virtually impossible; who, without yielding to threats or isolation, defends the truth in the face of those in power; who accepts the rule of law, justice and the dignity of all those affected by war as the guiding principles of her professional life and moral stance; and who demonstrates that the law can still be a valid means of combating impunity – Raji Sourani received the award.
At the ceremony hosted by Şebnem Hassanisoughi, Rakel Dink, Chair of the Hrant Dink Foundation, delivered a welcome message to the audience on behalf of the foundation. Rakel Dink addressed the audience, saying: “However hopeless it may seem, however exhausting it may be, however much it may inspire weariness, we will say: peace, peace, peace. We want peace. Every effort and every endeavour made for peace and justice is valuable. It is also an honour for those who strive. Of course, true peace means facing up to courage, the truth and the depths.”
Speaking at the ceremony at the invitation of the International Hrant Dink Award Committee, Tûba Çandar, author of Hrant’s biography, said:
“Because the journalist Hrant Dink was also a healer… He worked with his hands. When he spoke, he couldn’t resist touching people. He would change and transform every person he touched. Because he held within him enough love and warmth for everyone, and he offered this gift bestowed upon him with the utmost natural ease. Like every healer, whilst healing us, he too was healed. Because we – that is, both Turks and Armenians – had fallen ill some 100 years ago… due to what was inflicted upon us and what we endured on this land… The path to healing would lie in touching one another. In speaking whilst touching… Through speaking, we would understand and accept one another, and come to terms with our past.”
In her speech, award winner Süheyla Doğan said, “We are nurturing our hope… We know that we have no other choice but hope, and that better days are to come… And I, too, just as I have done until now, will continue to fight with all my being, my faith, my love and my hope for an egalitarian, just, secular and ecological way of life.”
Award winner Raji Sourani said in his speech, “This award belongs to the victims and survivors who, trusting in us, shared their testimonies by recounting the most painful moments of their lives, because they believe that the truth matters and that justice will one day prevail. This award belongs to all sections of Palestinian society, including journalists, doctors, humanitarian aid workers and rescue teams, who refuse to allow the suffering and anguish endured by their people to be erased or normalised. “And this award belongs to everyone in Palestine and beyond who continues to insist that international law must protect everyone equally, without distinction as to nationality, skin colour or race,” he said.
