Mikołaj Pietrzak receives Edward J. Wende Award

The 10th Edward J. Wende Award has been presented to Mikołaj Pietrzak, an advocate specialising in criminal law and the chairperson of the Polish Bar Council Human Rights Committee.

Mr Pietrzak received the distinction in recognition of his great courage in defending the helpless, reads the justification for the Award. The awarded lawyer also supports non-governmental organisations. Until 2009 he had been leading “Human Rights and Settlements with the Past”, the HFHR’s programme focusing primarily on cases connected with the review of the activities of military intelligence services, vetting of public officials and access to the archives of the Institute of National Remembrance. Closely working with the HFHR, he has worked pro bono on many cases. Currently Mr Pietrzak represents Abd al-Rahim Al-Nashiri before the ECtHR in the case involving CIA secret prisons in Poland.

“It has been a great pleasure to hear that Mikołaj received the award”, says Dr. Adam Bodnar, Deputy President of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. “We admire his professional passion and commitment. Mikołaj is one of those advocates who can see, above all else, the human side of every case they work on, and not only a legal problem that needs to be resolved. We are proud we can work together with him.”

Mikołaj, we congratulate you wholeheartedly!
HFHR Team