Photograph Eduard Delputte on Unsplash Roberta Metsola, president of the European parliament, has paid a moving tribute to the winners of this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The prize has been awarded to Jina Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran. The award was presented in Strasbourg in a ceremony…
“By liquidating Memorial, the Kremlin wants to liquidate the history of thousands of millions of victims of the political terror of the Soviet Union. It also wants to liquidate the records about hundreds of political prisoners in present day Russia.” “We demand that the Russian authorities reverse this decision and stop the ongoing crackdown on…
On the occasion of the Sakharov Prize 2021 ceremony in Strasbourg on Wednesday, MEPs said they want to pay tribute to all defenders of human rights in Russia. Like Andrei Sakharov, the eminent nuclear physicist and Soviet dissident, MEPs said they “courageously fight for democracy, truth and political freedom, despite efforts by the Kremlin to…
MEPs have awarded Russian opposition politician and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny the European Parliament’s 2021 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Parliament Vice-President Heidi Hautala announced the 2021 laureate in the Strasbourg plenary chamber on Wednesday afternoon, following an earlier decision by the Conference of Presidents (President and political group leaders). Parliament President David Sassoli said: “The European Parliament…
The Sakharov Prize was established in 1988 by the European Parliament as an honorary award for individuals or groups who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought. A shortlist of nominees was drawn up yesterday by the Parliament’s Committee of Foreign Affairs which will be further refined…
The democratic opposition in Belarus has been awarded the 2020 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. European Parliament President David Sassoli announced the laureates in the Brussels plenary chamber at noon on Thursday, following an earlier decision by the Conference of Presidents (President and political group leaders). “Let me congratulate the representatives of the Belarusian opposition for…
The democratic opposition of Belarus represented by the Coordination Council and number of opposition figures including Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, will be nominated by the EPP Group for this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought – the prize which honours those who, like Andrei Sakharov, dedicate their lives to fighting for fundamental and human rights. “The whole…
The European Parliament’s Conference of Presidents decided yesterday, (Thursday 10th September) to formally suspend Sakharov Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from the Sakharov Prize Community. The decision by the conference of presidents (President and political group leaders) to exclude Aung San Suu Kyi formally from all activities of the Community of Sakharov Prize laureates…
Ilham Tohti’s daughter accepted the 2019 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought on Wednesday on behalf of her jailed father. Tohti, a Uyghur scholar fighting for the rights of China’s Muslim Uyghur minority, has been in prison since 2014 on separatism-related charges. “Ilham Tohti, with his activism, managed to give a voice to the Uyghurs….
Ukrainian civil rights activist Oleg Sentsov, recently released from a Russian prison and who has become a symbol of all political prisoners in that country, has warned the West “not to forget” those “languishing” in Russian jails. He said, “There are young men still languishing behind bars in Russia, people who have done nothing wrong,…
