LI Prize for Freedom: LI Prize for Freedom

May 4 in Berlin. It is a festive evening in the Mitte district - yet also a political one. As the Liberal International Prize for Freedom is awarded, the laureate remains absent. Osman Kavala is still in prison. His wife, Ayşe Buğra, accepts the award on his behalf. It is this contrast that defines the tone of the evening: both a tribute and a call to action.

A Case with Symbolic Power

In his opening remarks, Professor Karl-Heinz Paqué, President of Liberal International and former chairman of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, makes it clear that the LI Prize for Freedom is not awarded lightly, but honors those who demonstrate “the courage to stand up for human dignity, even at great personal cost.” Osman Kavala, imprisoned for more than eight and a half years, embodies that courage in exemplary fashion.

Welcome Remarks by Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Paqué

In her laudatory speech, Dr. Maren Jasper-Winter, member of the FNF board, paints a portrait of a man whose commitment to dialogue and cultural exchange turned him into a political adversary. She recalls the construction of the charges against Kavala - and their questionable nature: “A loudspeaker. A plastic table. And a few cookies.” That was all the evidence cited in the indictment against him.

Jasper-Winter said the Kavala case is no longer just about one individual. It has become emblematic of the state of the rule of law and freedom of expression in Turkey.

Laudatio by Dr. Maren Jasper-Winter

A Personal and Political Dialogue

At the heart of the evening was a deeply personal yet political conversation between Ayşe Buğra, emerita professor and wife of Osman Kavala, and Astrid Thors, Deputy President of Liberal International. Their dialogue made clear how closely intertwined individual fates and political developments are. Buğra spoke about her husband’s years in prison, about hope, resilience, and the importance of international solidarity.

This conversation gave the event a particular depth. It shifted the focus to the human dimension behind political headlines and made it clear what it really means when freedom is restricted - not in an abstract way, but in real life.

Words from Prison: Kavala’s Message

The voice of the award recipient himself reached the audience only indirectly. In his acceptance speech, read by his wife Ayşe Buğra, Kavala describes a world in which authoritarian tendencies are on the rise - yet where hope remains possible. “In the current dismal state of the world, it is easy to lose hope,” the speech reads. “But there are also developments that give me hope", such as those in Hungary.

Letter by Osman Kavala

More Than an Award

At the end of the evening, the message becomes even more explicit. Dr. Jürgen Martens, President of the German Group of Liberal International, voices what many in the room are thinking: the fact that the award ceremony takes place in Berlin rather than Istanbul is itself a statement about the state of freedom in Turkey. Kavala, Martens says, is paying “a heavy price for his unwavering commitment to peaceful coexistence, an open society and the pursuit of understanding.”

Closing Remarks by Dr. Jürgen Martens

What remains is the impression of an evening that consciously aims to be more than a mere ceremony. The award is intended as a call to action - to those present and to the broader public - to stand up for freedom, the rule of law, and democratic values, even when it becomes difficult.

Or, as it was put in the laudation: “Freedom is not a state. Freedom is a responsibility.”

A sentence that, on this evening, does not fade away as a cliché - but lingers as a political imperative.