Muhammad Javad Wafai Thani, a boxing champion and trainer and a political prisoner sentenced to death in Mashhad's Wakil Abad prison, has been announced as the winner of the 2026 International Magnitsky Prize for Human Rights in the "Outstanding Human Rights Activist" category.
Referring to reports of severe physical and mental torture, long isolation and repeated death threats, the organizers of this award saw the case of this protester from November 2018 as a symbol of repression of political opponents, violation of freedom of expression and denial of a fair trial in Iran.
The Magnitsky International Human Rights Award has been established in the UK since 2015, and a number of prominent political and human rights figures have received this award over the years.