The Ukrainian people, represented by their president, elected leaders and civil society, won the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize 2022.
The Sakharov Prize is awarded annually by the European Parliament to organizations and individuals fighting for freedom of thought and human rights.
The prize is worth 50,000 euros and is awarded to representatives of civil society.
In her announcement, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, praised the efforts of the Ukrainian people in the fight against Russia: “They are risking their lives for Europe. I know they will never give up and neither will we,” she said in Wednesday (October 19th).
They are standing up for what they believe in.
Fighting for our values.
Protect democracy, liberty and the rule of law.
Risking their lives for us.
And today proud winners of @Europarl_EN #SakharovPrize.
Nobody is more deserving.
Congratulations to the brave people of Ukraine! pic.twitter.com/SORmU2DSbA
— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) October 19, 2022
Established in 1988, the Sakharov Prize was named in honor of Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov.
The first recipients were anti-apartheid activist and former South African president Nelson Mandela and Soviet dissident and writer Anatoly Marchenko.
In 2021, the award was presented to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the biggest critic of Vladimir Putin, who is currently in prison in Russia.
Ukrainians were proposed as candidates by the Social Democrats and the European People’s Party, the two largest and oldest political groups after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
The other two finalists were WikiLeaks activist Julian Assange, proposed by the Italian 5 Star Movement, and the left-backed Colombian Truth Commission.
The 5 Star Movement congratulated the winners. MEP Sabrina Pignedoli said in a press release on Wednesday that the party “hopes that the European Parliament will continue to invite all finalists to the awards ceremony scheduled for the December plenary session”.
“We are waiting for Assange in Strasbourg,” Pignoli continued.
The WikiLeaks founder is currently in Belmarsh Prison in London, where he is appealing his extradition to the US.
He is wanted by US authorities on 18 counts, including espionage, in connection with WikiLeaks’ disclosure of vast amounts of confidential US military documents and diplomatic cables.
According to Washington, the leak put lives in danger.
[Bearbeitet von Zoran Radosavljevic/Alice Taylor]