At the 15th annual gala on October 23, the Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region (ANCA-ER) awarded the human rights attorney Siranush Sahakyan, the president of the International and Comparative Law Center, with the annual Freedom Award.
Siranush Sahakyan is a human rights attorney filing cases with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on behalf of the Armenian prisoners of war (POWs), among other significant contributions.
ANCA's Eastern Region Freedom Award is the region's highest honor given to individuals who demonstrate extraordinary courage and devotion to freedom and justice.
Sahakyan not only serves as the head of I.C.Law, but is also the co-founder of the “Path of Law” NGO and an adjunct professor at the American University of Armenia, where she is also the coordinator of the master's program in human rights and social justice.
Through her work with I.C.Law, she now collaborates with the Armenian Legal Center for Justice and Human Rights to collect evidence, witness statements, legal documents on behalf of families of POWs and those missing in action to present them to the ECHR and other international bodies responsible for such cases.
"On behalf of ANCA-ER, I would like to congratulate Siranush Sahakyan, the winner of this year's Freedom Award of the Eastern region of ANCA. Siranush's actions are an example of leadership and devotion to the Armenian nation. Her dedication to POWs and the POWs' families is unwavering, and as such we are truly honored to present her with this award," said ANCA-ER Board President Ani Chaghlasyan.