Ukrainian people awarded European Parliament’s 2022 Sakharov Prize
A boy with a flag of Ukraine on a destroyed Russian vehicle on Khreschatyk Street, Kyiv, August 21, 2022 (Photo:REUTERS / Valentyn Ogirenko)
The people of Ukraine, represented by their president, elected leaders and civil society, have been awarded the 2022 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the European Parliament announced on Oct. 19.
“This award is for those Ukrainians fighting on the ground,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced in the Strasbourg plenary all those who stand up and fight for what they believe in chamber.
“For those who have been forced to flee. For those who have lost relatives and friends. For. I know that the brave people of Ukraine will not give up and neither will we,” she said.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded each year by the European Parliament. It was set up in 1988 to honor individuals and organizations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.
It is named in honor of Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov and the prize money is EUR 50,000.
Last year, the European Parliament awarded the prize to Russian opposition politician and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny.
In 2020, it was awarded to the Belarusian opposition led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and in 2019, the prize was awarded to Ukrainian film director and former political prisoner Oleh Sentsov.
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