A Guatemalan judge who fled his Central American homeland last year after decades of holding perpetrators of war and other crimes accountable for their actions has been named Global Jurist of the Year by Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Center for International Human Rights.

Judge Miguel Ángel Gálvez paused twice to wipe tears from his eyes on Wednesday as he recounted his escape last November to Costa Rica under threat of arrest and possible death. The ceremony was live-streamed.