Russian film director, writer, and activist Aleksei Simonov has been honored for campaigning for freedom of speech and the rights of journalists in Russia.
Simonov received 10,000 euros ($12,000) in Warsaw late on December 16 as he received the Freedom of Speech Award from the International Association of Press Clubs.
Simonov heads the independent Glasnost Defense Foundation, which works to protect and support journalists who have been persecuted or imprisoned in Russia and is also member of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Russia's oldest human rights organization.
The Warsaw-based International Association of Press Clubs promotes the ethics of journalism and the right to unrestrained access to information.
Its first award, in 2013, went to the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders group.