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The award is granted by the European Parliament to reinforce and promote the cause of the winners. This is the most important recognition given by the European Union in the field of human rights. Activist Julian Assange and the Colombian Truth Commission were among the finalists.
Another accolade from the European bloc to Ukraine in the midst of the Russian invasion. The Ukrainian people, their civil organizations and elected representatives, led by Volodymyr Zelensky, received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
“There has been consensus on this decision. For the last nine months, the European Parliament and the world have seen Ukrainians heroically defending their country, their freedoms, their homes and families. They are also risking their lives for Europe, to safeguard the values in which we all believe,” said Roberta Metsola, president of the continental Parliament.
The nomination came from the popular group, liberal and social democratic. Even, at another time, the conservatives of the European hemicycle directly proposed President Zelensky.
They are standing up for what they believe in.
Fighting for our values.
Protecting democracy, freedom & rule of law.
Risking their lives for us.
And today proud winners of @Europarl_EN #SakharovPrize.
No one is more serving.
Congratulations to the brave people of Ukraine! pic.twitter.com/SORmU2DSbA
— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) October 19, 2022
The award, which will be presented next December at the parliamentary headquarters in Strasbourg, “highlights the efforts of the Ukrainian President Zelensky together with the role of the people, the representatives of civil society initiatives and state and public institutions, including the State Emergency Services of Ukraine”, explained the organization of the award.
They also highlighted the work of Yulia Pajevska, founder of the Angeles de Taira medical evacuation unit, Oleksandra Matviychuk, human rights lawyer and president of the Center for Civil Liberties organization, the peaceful resistance movement Yellow Ribbon Civil Resistance Movement, for playing ” an important role in defending freedom of expression and resistance against Russian intentions in the occupied areas”, and Ivan Fedorov, mayor of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, currently under the occupation of Russian forces.
This is the third consecutive year in which the Sakharov has been awarded to institutions and personalities with political ideas opposed to the Russian and Belarusian governments, one of its main allies. In 2020 it was awarded to the democratic opposition to President Alexander Lukashenko and a year later to the Russian opponent Alexei Navalny.
The other Sakharov nominees
Despite the consensus that existed this year for the delivery of the award for Freedom of Conscience, other names and institutions were left on the table. Two accompanied the Ukrainian people to the end: Julian Assange and the Colombian Truth Commission.
Assange, detained in the UK, is the founder of the WikiLeaks site, known for its public interest leaks. He is remembered for the disclosures of sensitive US documents and records, for which Washington asks for his extradition.
For its part, the Truth Commission of Colombia, born after the Peace Accords in that South American nation, searches the roots of the armed conflict for its causes and patterns to promote recognition of what happened and prevent it from happening again.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is a tribute to Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, a human rights defender who was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The award grants a cash bonus of 50,000 euros as reinforcement and impetus to highlight the causes of the laureates.
With EFE and local media
