Prague, 14 October 2025
Iryna Danylovich Awarded 2025 Prize of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience
Honouring the voice of truth under occupation
The Platform of European Memory and Conscience is proud to announce that the 2025 Prize of the Platform has been awarded to Iryna Danylovich, a Ukrainian human rights defender, citizen journalist, and nurse from occupied Crimea, in recognition of her exceptional civic courage, independent journalism, and unwavering defence of human dignity under Russian occupation.
Despite facing surveillance, threats, abduction, and torture, Danylovich has shown unbreakable determination in exposing injustice and speaking the truth. Her commitment to democratic values and fundamental freedoms in one of the most repressive environments in Europe makes her not only a journalist and healthcare worker, but a symbol of resistance and moral clarity.
“When the truth becomes dangerous, those who speak it become targets. This Prize is not only a tribute to Iryna’s courage, but a call to defend every journalist persecuted for exposing injustice. Iryna Danylovich reminds us that even in the darkest places, one voice can illuminate the truth,” said Marek Mutor, President of the Platform.
A Voice for the Silenced
Born on 6 May 1979, Iryna Danylovich lived in Vladyslavivka near Feodosia and worked as a nurse in Koktebel, Crimea. Under Russian occupation, she began reporting anonymously on the rights of medical workers and the deteriorating health care system. Her reporting for independent media on politically motivated trials and infringements of human rights made her a target.
On 29 April 2022, she was abducted by four plainclothes Russian security officers and forcibly disappeared. Her home was searched, and her phone and equipment were seized. For 13 days, her family did not know her whereabouts. She was later discovered in a detention centre in Simferopol, where she had been tortured, denied adequate food, and forced to sign a confession.
In December 2022, a court under Russian occupation sentenced Danylovich to seven years in prison and a fine of 50,000 rubles under fabricated charges of handling explosives. In July 2023, she was illegally transferred to the Russian Federation and is currently imprisoned in Penal Colony No. 7 in Zelenokumsk, Stavropol region. Denied adequate medical care, she began a hunger strike in 2023.
Her whereabouts are not certain at this moment.
Her case remains a chilling example of how authoritarian regimes silence independent voices and manipulate the law to suppress dissent.
About the Prize
The Prize of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience is awarded annually to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding civic courage in resisting totalitarianism and defending the values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
Past laureates include leading voices in the struggle for historical truth and democratic freedom, such as Vladimir Kara-Murza, who received the 2024 Prize while imprisoned in Russia for opposing the war in Ukraine.
For Media Inquiries & Interview Requests:
Olga Kolany
Platform of European Memory and Conscience
About the Platform of European Memory and Conscience
The Platform is a non-governmental organisation uniting institutions from across Europe and North America, dedicated to researching, documenting, and raising awareness about the crimes of totalitarian regimes. It promotes remembrance, education, and justice for victims of 20th-century totalitarianism and supports democratic resilience through truth and historical accountability.