Oslo - A journalist from Azerbaijan was named winner of the 2009 Rafto Prize on Thursday for her reports "on abuse of power, human rights violations and corruption."Malahat Nasibova, 40, received the human rights award for "her courageous and unwavering struggle for a free and independent press" in the autonomous republic Nakhchivan, which is part of Azerbaijan and borders Armenia, Iran and Turkey.
The jury noted that she has reported on "violations by the police against ordinary citizens" as well as abductions of dissidents and attacks on reporters.
Nasibova, who works for both the independent news agency Turan and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was likened to an ombudsperson for the local community.
The leaders of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan have been criticized for their authoritarian style of rule in the past, the Rafto Foundation said.
By awarding Nasibova, the jury said it also wanted to highlight concerns that Azerbaijan, a member of the Council of Europe, "increasingly fails to meet its democratic and human rights obligations towards its own citizens and the international society."
The prize, worth 10,000 dollars, was created in 1986 in memory of outspoken human rights activist Thorolf Rafto, professor at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration in the west coast town of Bergen.
The award is due to be presented on November 1 in Bergen. The foundation said it believed Nasibova would be able to attend the ceremony.
Last year, the Rafto Prize was awarded to Congolese priest and activist Bulambo Lembelembe Josue.
Four previous Rafto Prize winners - Aung San Suu Kyi, Jose Ramos- Horta, Kim Dae-jung and Shirin Ebadi - later went on to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 2007 the prize was awarded to an Indian organization - the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) - that campaigns for the Dalit people, sometimes called "untouchables."
