Abdulkarim Lahiji; Another Iranian on the List of Recipients of the Legion of Honor

François Hollande, the President of France, awarded the French National Order of the Legion of Honor to the heads of the International Federation for Human Rights, including Abdulkarim Lahiji, on Friday. Mr. Hollande presented the Legion of Honor to Abdulkarim Lahiji, the president of the International Federation for Human Rights, along with Sidiki Kaba and Michel Blum, honorary presidents of the federation, at the Élysée Palace on the evening of November 6. In this ceremony, the French President emphasized the courage of human rights defenders who risk their lives; defenders represented by the International Federation for Human Rights with its 178 member organizations worldwide. The French President also emphasized the necessity of France's diplomatic efforts to protect human rights defenders and promised to seize all opportunities for this purpose. Regarding the significance and reason for receiving this honor, Abdulkarim Lahiji told Radio Farda that it is an acknowledgment of the activities carried out over the past decades in the field of human rights defense. Mehrangiz Kar, a lawyer and human rights activist in Washington, also commented on the awarding of this prize to Mr. Lahiji, stating that it is a recognition of the efforts he has made over the decades in defending human rights both in Iran and globally. The Legion of Honor is the highest award in France, established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, and is awarded to those who have made extraordinary contributions in military and civilian fields. Several Iranians, including Shirin Ebadi, Leila Hatami, and Mohammad Reza Shajarian, have received this award to date.