Iraqi publisher Mazin Lateef Ali was awarded the International Publishers Association's 2023 Prix Voltaire, which honors publishers, individuals and organizations "for their exemplary courage in upholding the freedom to publish and enabling others to exercise their right to freedom of expression," at a ceremony during the World Expression Forum in Lillehammer, Norway. The IPA also announced a Prix Voltaire Special Award for murdered Ukrainian children's book author and poet Volodymyr Vakulenko.
The IPA noted that Mazin Lateef Ali "has been missing since being abducted in 2020. As a student in Baghdad, Iraq, Mazin Lateef started buying and selling books on Al-Mutanabi Street. He went on to establish Dar Mesopotamia for Printing, Publishing, and Distribution in 2007, earning a reputation as a distinguished and highly regarded member of Iraq's cultural community. Lateef published a variety of books, including several centered around the Jewish communities and individuals of Iraq. Unfortunately, on January 31, 2020, he was abducted at gunpoint and has not been heard from since."
Accepting the award on behalf of his father, Abdulmoahimen Mazin Lateef said in a video address: "Never before did I imagine that someday I would stand in such a distinguished place to speak about my father, who always used to fill the atmosphere with his conversations about culture and thought. Unfortunately, his voice was silenced, and his sin was that he had a passion for freedom of thought, and sought--through his publishing house--to present readers with everything related to the cultural foundations of Iraq. Sincere thanks to all of you, for recognizing Mazin Lateef. His spirit is present with us right now, urging to find peace by knowing his fate for sure. It is not humanity to deprive a family from visiting the tomb of their father."
Vakulenko, the IPA Prix Voltaire Special Award laureate, wrote 13 books, including works about his region's heritage, poetry, as well as children's titles. He was a winner of several Ukrainian and international literary prizes and was well-known for his strong patriotic stance. He was arrested twice following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The second time he was not released. His body was found in one of the mass graves in Izium.
Accepting the award on behalf of Vakulenko, Ukrainian writer and war crimes researcher Victoria Amelina said: "I am a Ukrainian writer speaking on behalf of my colleague Volodymyr Vakulenko who, unlike me, didn't survive another attempt of the Russian Empire to erase Ukrainian identity. The Ukrainian literary community is grateful for the award. This award is unique, meaningful, and moving to us, partly because no one out of hundreds of other Ukrainian writers who, like Vakulenko, were murdered throughout Ukrainian history ever received such an international award posthumously. I am sure that Volodymyr Vakulenko would like to dedicate this award to them too."
Kristenn Einarsson, chair of the IPA's Freedom to Publish Committee, said: "Mazin Lateef's commitment to the literary community and freedom of expression in Iraq should be an inspiration to us all. We call on those who have taken him to return him safely. Volodymyr Vakulenko is a symbol of the horrific cultural destruction perpetrated by the Russian army in Ukraine. May we hold him in our memory and celebrate the stories and poems he left us before being taken too soon."