Andriy Khlyvnyuk refused the Sergei Magnitsky Prize: what is the reason?

>> Andriy Khlyvnyuk/Facebook

Bumboks frontman and Ukrainian military man Andriy Khlyvnyuk refused the Serhiy Magnitsky international award in the field of journalistic investigations and protection of human rights around the world. Yulia Navalny is among the other laureates this year.

He announced this on his Facebook page.

I sincerely thank all the founders and the jury of the influential Magnitsky International Prize in London. You noticed and noted my, compared to other people and foundations, not a significant part of the contribution to the fight for freedom of speech and fundamental human rights, within the framework of the struggle for the independence of the Ukrainian state – Thank you!, – wrote Hlyvnyuk.< /p>

Despite this, he emphasized that he could not accept the award, because among this year's laureates there are those who do not support the provision of western weapons to Ukraine.

However, as a father of two children living under missile strikes and a private in the Ukrainian Defense Forces (the Kherson patrol police UAV strike detachment), I cannot receive this award along with other laureates who are “not convinced” of the need to provide my country with Western weapons, which are vital to repelling Russian aggression, he wrote.

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The Sergei Magnitsky Prize was established in 2015 on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the death of the Russian lawyer. He was arrested in Russia for alleged tax evasion. Shortly before his arrest, Magnitsky uncovered several schemes for fictitious tax refunds totaling 5.4 billion rubles. And according to the lawyer's business partners, he became the victim of a conspiracy to hide the tax abuses he discovered from law enforcement officers.

In 2024, among the laureates of the prize Yulia Navalny, who was awarded in the “Courage Under Fire” category. Her unwavering resilience in the face of adversity and dedication to Alexei's mission to achieve a free and democratic Russia are simply incredible, said the founder of the award, Hermitage Capital chairman William Browder. Afghan journalist Zahra Joya, who was forced to flee the country after the Taliban returned to power in 2021, also received the award. In exile, she runs Rukhshana Media, a company that tells the stories of Afghan women.