The Andrei Sakharov Prize For Freedom of Thought was given to citizens of Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky as their representative. This is the main EU award in the field of human rights.
The 2022 laureate was announced by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.
“This is a reward for all Ukrainians who are fighting right now. For all those who were forced to flee. For all those who have lost loved ones. For all those who stand up and fight for what they believe in. The brave people of Ukraine will not give up, and neither will we,” she said .
The list of nominees this year included citizens of Ukraine, personally President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange, Brazilian activist Sonia Guajahara, Al Jazeera journalist Shirin Abu Akle, who died in May 2022.
The awards ceremony is to take place on December 14 at a session in Strasbourg.
In 2021, the prize was awarded to the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Over the years, its laureates have been South African President Nelson Mandela, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, human rights activist Lyudmila Alekseeva.