Presented by European Parliament First awarded 1988 | Reward(s) €50,000 Official website Official website | |
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Currently held by Nadia Murad Basee and Lamiya Aji Bashar | ||
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, commonly known as the Sakharov Prize, honours individuals and groups of people who have dedicated their lives to the defense of human rights and freedom of thought. Named after Russian scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, the prize was established in December 1988 by the European Parliament. A shortlist of nominees is drawn up annually by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Development, with the winner announced in October. The prize is accompanied by a monetary award of €50,000.
The first prize was awarded jointly to South African Nelson Mandela and Russian Anatoly Marchenko. The 1990 award was given to Aung San Suu Kyi, but she could not receive it until 2013 as a result of her political imprisonment in Burma. The prize has also been awarded to organisations, the first being the Argentine Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in 1992.
Some Sakharov laureates still face harsh political oppression. Laureates living under repressive regimes include the Belarusian Association of Journalists (2004), Damas de Blanco and Guillermo Fariñas (Cuba, 2005 and 2010), Alaksandar Milinkievič (Belarus, 2006) and Hu Jia (China, 2008). Razan Zaitouneh (2011) was kidnapped in 2013 and is still missing. Nasrin Sotoudeh (2012) was released from prison in September 2013, and, along with fellow 2012 laureate Jafar Panahi, is still barred from leaving Iran.
Three Sakharov laureates were subsequently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize: Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Malala Yousafzai.