EU lawmakers have selected the finalists for the 2022 Sakharov Prize, a European Parliament award celebrating defenders of human rights and freedom of thought.
WikiLeaks activist Julian Assange, the Colombian Truth Commission, and the people of Ukraine were nominated. The winner will be decided next week.
The award is Europe’s highest tribute to human rights defenders. Established in 1988 and awarded annually, it is named in honour of Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov and comes with €50,000 in prize money.
If the people of Ukraine win, the money will be granted to civil society representatives.
The first winners were anti-apartheid activist and South African president Nelson Mandela and Soviet dissident and author Anatoli Marchenko.
In 2021, the prize was granted to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is currently detained in Russia.
The candidacy of Ukrainian people was proposed by the S&D and European People’s Party (EPP) groups, with Assange’s candidacy put forward by the Italian Five Star Movement and the Left nominating the Colombian Truth Commission.
After presenting the nominees in September, the EPP and S&D groups said, respectively, that the people of Ukraine “deserve to win” and their battle is “also for our European democracy and freedom.”
Zelenskyy, Ukrainians, and Assange among nominees for 2022 Sakharov prize
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the people of Ukraine, Julian Assange, Sonia Guajajara, and the Colombian Comision de Verdad are among the nominees for the 2022 Sakharov prize, an EU award dedicated to individuals, groups or organisations that contribute to protecting freedom of thought.
The Five Star Movement MEP delegation described the finalists’ vote result as a “big political victory against indifference towards the WikiLeaks founder,” who is currently risking 175 years in prison in the US.
The party invited Assange to speak at the EU chamber in the event of his freedom.
“This battle can be won only when Assange will be a free man,” they said.
The Left backed the Colombian Truth Commission “for its work shedding light on atrocities committed in Colombia’s armed conflict.”
“This candidature pays tribute to victims. Without truth, reconciliation is not possible” said the Left Spanish MEP Miguel Urban at the time of the candidacy.
On 19 October, EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola, together with the groups’ leaders, will select the winner.
The prize will be given during a ceremony on 14 December during the plenary session in Strasbourg.
[Edited by Nathalie Wetherald]
Source: euractiv.com
