The National Foundation for Democracy (NED) recognized the Cuban dissident for its peaceful defense of human rights.
Madrid, Spain.- The National Foundation for Democracy (NED) on Tuesday grants the medal at the service of democracy 2025 to the 2025 Cuban dissident Oswaldo Payá, in recognition of his career of peaceful struggle for freedom and human rights in Cuba.
“The legacy of Oswaldo Payá lives through his family and all those who continue to advocate for a free Cuba,” the foundation published on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, announcing the delivery of recognition.
The NED stressed that this medal honors “people whose courage has promoted freedom and human rights worldwide” and pointed to Payá as a “enduring symbol of hope and peaceful democratic resistance in Cuba.”
The medal at the service of democracy is one of the main awards granted by NED, a private non -profit organization based in Washington DC, dedicated to the strengthening of democratic institutions in the world. Every year, it distinguishes to figures highlighted by its commitment to democratic values, often in contexts of high repression or personal risk.
Oswaldo Payá was the founder of the Liberation Christian Movement and the main promoter of the Varela Project, an initiative that brought together thousands of signatures to demand democratic reforms to the Cuban regime. For his work he received in 2002 the Sájarov Award for freedom of conscience, awarded by the European Parliament.
On July 22, 2012, Payá died in an alleged car accident in the province of Granma, together with activist Harold Cepero. However, his family argues that it was a murder perpetrated by agents of the Cuban regime and has taken his case before international instances with strong evidence. In 2023, the Inter -American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) He concluded that the Cuban State was responsible of his death, and that it was not an accident, but of a deliberately caused, in violation of their fundamental rights.
