“I have learned with sadness that the human rights community has lost one of its greatest human rights defenders, Ms.
Lyudmila Mikhaylovna Alexeyeva. She was a Russian historian, leading human rights activist and founding member of the
Moscow Helisinki Group. She was an intrepid defender of the rights of vulnerable people in Russia and beyond.
The European Parliament in 2009 awarded Alexeyeva the prestigious Sakharov Prize For Freedom of Thought, along with the
Memorial human rights organisation. ‘If I save even one person, it's already a true joy,’ she said at the time.
Her life and work inspired generations of human rights defenders around the globe.”