Yesterday, former Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau accepted the inaugural Alberto Nisman Award for Courage during the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’s Washington Forum.

Argentine Prosecutor Alberto Nisman pursued terrorists and justice relentlessly, even while his evidence trail more recently was at odds with his government’s foreign policy. He did so at peril to his own life. He was a man of great determination and he was a man of great courage. It is because his courage inspired so many that FDD has established an award in his memory. Through this award, through the new AlbertoNisman.org website, and through our work uncovering Iran’s illicit activities that endanger the Western Hemisphere and beyond, FDD is committed to continuing his legacy and keeping alive the work of his investigation.

FDD, chose former Manhattan DA, The Honorable Robert M. Morgenthau as the inaugural recipient of the Alberto Nisman Award for Courage because of the 35 years he spent relentlessly pursuing criminals, terrorists and those who enable them.

In accepting the award, Morgenthau noted similarities in what he and Nisman found in Iran’s structural “sphere of influence in the West.”

Reminiscing on when he met Nisman in 2008 or 2009, Morgenthau he said Nisman “struck [him] at the time as a forceful and independent prosecutor, following evidence wherever it led, unafraid to take on powerful interests.”

Morgenthau concluded his speech, saying:

“It is imperative Nisman’s work not be forgotten. Prosecutors and judges in Argentina – and elsewhere I hope – will pick up the mantle of Nisman and search for the truth… I am grateful for this recognition of the Foundation, and I dedicate this award to Nisman’s work, and to prosecutors around the world willing to stand up to powerful interests to do what is right.”

View the full remarks from former Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau, the first recipient of the Alberto Nisman Award for Courage.