Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, widely known as the Sakharov Prize, is an honorary award for individuals or groups who have dedicated their lives to the defence 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 European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs and Committee on Development. The MEPs who make up those committees then select a shortlist in September. Thereafter, the final choice is given to The European Parliament's Conference of Presidents (President and political group's leaders) and the laureate's name is announced late in October. The prize is awarded in a ceremony at the Parliament's Strasbourg hemicycle (round chamber) in December. The prize includes a monetary award of €50,000.
| Sl | Name | Country | Flag | Year | Awarded For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | Andrzej Poczobut | Belarus | 2025 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 52 | Mzia Amaglobeli | Georgia | 2025 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 51 | María Corina Machado | Venezuela | 2024 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 50 | Edmundo González Urrutia | Venezuela | 2024 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 49 | Woman, Life, Freedom movement | Iran | 2023 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 48 | Mahsa Jina Amini † | Iran | 2023 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 47 | The Ukrainian people | Ukrine | 2022 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 46 | Alexei Navalny | Russia | 2021 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 45 | Democratic opposition in Belarus | Belarus | 2020 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 44 | Ilham Tohti | china | 2019 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 43 | Oleg Sentsov | Ukrine | 2018 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 42 | Democratic opposition in Venezuela | Venezuela | 2017 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 41 | Lamiya Aji Bashar | Iraq | 2016 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 40 | Nadia Murad | Iraq | 2016 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 39 | Raif Badawi | Saudi Arabia | 2015 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 38 | Denis Mukwege | Congo | 2014 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 37 | Malala Yousafzai | Pakistan | 2013 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 36 | Nasrin Sotoudeh | Iran | 2012 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 35 | Jafar Panahi | Iran | 2012 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 34 | Mohamed Bouazizi † | Tunisia | 2011 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 33 | Ali Farzat | Syria | 2011 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 32 | Razan Zaitouneh | Syria | 2011 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 31 | Ahmed al-Senussi | Libya | 2011 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 30 | Asmaa Mahfouz | Egypt | 2011 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 29 | Guillermo Fariñas | Cuba | 2010 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 28 | Memorial | Russia | 2009 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 27 | Hu Jia | china | 2008 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 26 | Salih Mahmoud Osman | Sudan | 2007 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 25 | Alaksandar Milinkievič | Belarus | 2006 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 24 | Hauwa Ibrahim | Nigeria | 2005 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 23 | Reporters Without Borders | International | 2005 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 22 | Ladies in White | Cuba | 2005 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 21 | Belarusian Association of Journalists | Belarus | 2004 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 20 | United Nations | UN | 2003 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 19 | Kofi Annan | Ghana | 2003 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 18 | Oswaldo Payá | Cuba | 2002 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 17 | Dom Zacarias Kamwenho | Angola | 200 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 16 | Izzat Ghazzawi | Palestine | 2001 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 15 | Nurit Peled-Elhanan | Israel | 2001 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 14 | ¡Basta Ya! | Spain | 2000 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 13 | Xanana Gusmão | East Timor | 1999 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 12 | Ibrahim Rugova | Kosovo | 1998 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 11 | Salima Ghezali | Algeria | 1997 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 10 | Wei Jingsheng | china | 1996 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 9 | Leyla Zana | Turkey | 1995 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 8 | Taslima Nasrin | Bangladesh | 1994 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 7 | Oslobo?enje | Bosania & Herzegovina | 1993 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 6 | Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo | Argentina | 1992 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 5 | Adem Demaçi | Kosovo | 1991 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 4 | Aung San Suu Kyi | Myanmar | 1990 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 3 | Alexander Dubček | Czecholslovakia | 1989 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 2 | Anatoly Marchenko † | Russia | 1988 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought | |
| 1 | Nelson Mandela | South Africa | 1988 | dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought |
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought Laureates (2010 ~ 2001)
Guillermo Fariñas
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2010
Doctor of psychology, journalist and political dissident Guillermo Fariñas went on a number of hunger strikes aimed at bringing about peaceful political change and freedom of expression in Cuba.His 7-month hunger strike in 2006 drew worldwide attention to internet censorship in Cuba and caused him severe health problems.Undeterred, in February 2010, after the controversial death of prisoner Orlando Zapata, Fariñas began a hunger and thirst strike that lasted 134 days, calling for the liberation of political prisoners who had become ill after many years of imprisonment. He ended his strike only after the Cuban government announced it was in the process of freeing 52 political prisoners. Fariñas was not allowed to leave Cuba for the 2010 Sakharov Prize award ceremony at the European Parliament. He finally addressed Parliament at the 2013 Sakharov Prize award ceremony, after the Cuban government eased travel restrictions on Cubans and the Damas de Blanco had re‑entered Cuba after visiting Parliament.'Today, I am here not because the situation has essentially changed, but because of the realities of the modern world, and above all, because of the growing civic defiance of Cubans, which has forced the regime to - like the legendary prince Don Fabrizio from Il Gattopardo said - "change something so that nothing changes"', Fariñas stated in his acceptance speech.In 2015 Fariñas resumed his role as coordinator of the Foro Antitotalitario Unido (United Antitotalitarian Front), having briefly merged this movement with the opposition umbrella group Unión Patriótica de Cuba (Cuban Patriotic Union) and represented it as spokesperson. Fariñas left the umbrella group amicably owing to divergent views on the re‑establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States announced in December 2014. Fariñas regards this development as a betrayal of the Cuban democrats, which broke a promise to Damas leader Berta Soler in 2013 by US President Obama himself to consult civil society and the non‑violent opposition on any action towards Cuba.In 2015, Fariñas launched a campaign to collect the 10 000 signatures needed under the Cuban constitution to include in the new electoral law announced by Raúl Castro's government, the recognition and legalisation of existing political movements, the right to vote and stand for election of all Cuban citizens, including those living abroad, and international electoral observation.For his activism, Fariñas has in recent years been threatened with death and confinement in a psychiatric hospital. He has also been beaten and hospitalised, and repeatedly arrested and detained, including at the funeral of Oswaldo Payá, another Sakharov Prize laureate and Cuban dissident. Against the background of the 2018 change in Cuban leadership, Fariñas remained an outspoken and active critic of the regime, both inside and outside the country.In February 2020, Cuban authorities arrested Fariñas on vague administrative grounds, thus preventing him from travelling to Brussels to participate in Parliament's Human Rights Subcommittee (DROI). He is still under close surveillance by Cuban authorities.Fariñas went several times on hunger strike in protest against repression by the Cuban regime. During the last one, in 2023, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging the EU to trigger the review mechanism in light of the increase in repression and a rise in the number of political prisoners.
Memorial
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2009
Founded to preserve the memory of mass repression under Stalin, Memorial advocates respect for human rights, and protects victims of human rights abuses in Russia and the former Soviet states.Oleg Orlov, Sergei Kovalev and Lyudmila Alexeyeva were awarded the Sakharov Prize in 2009 on behalf of Memorial and all other human rights defenders in Russia.Memorial was established in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s with the initial aim of bringing the mass repression under Stalinʼs rule to light and preserving the memory of its victims through research and public events. After the dissolution of the USSR, the organisation became international, with branches and partner NGOs in former Soviet republics and beyond. It has broadened its aims to include monitoring and documenting human rights violations and advocating for and providing legal assistance to victims. Among its founders was Andrei Sakharov. Memorial is made up of many organisations in Russia and 11 other countries. At the end of 2021, the same year the centenary of Sakharov's birth was celebrated in Russia and abroad, the Russian courts ordered the closure of the organisation that he had helped found. However, its members are determined to continue their activities.Oleg Orlov is among the founding members of Memorial and has been one of its leaders since 1994, as the Chair of the Memorial Human Rights Centre and a member of the board of its international branch. He has collected evidence from and documented abductions during the two Chechnya wars and the later conflict in eastern Ukraine. In 2023, the veteran dissident was charged with "discrediting the armed forces" and fined. In February 2024, his sentence was increased and he was sent to jail for two and half years.Sergei Kovalev, the long-serving chair of the Russian branch of Memorial, was a dissident, political prisoner, human rights activist and politician. In 1991, he helped draft the article on human rights in the new Russian constitution. In 1995, he negotiated the release of 2 000 people held hostage by Chechen rebels in a hospital in the city of Budennovsk. Kovalev criticised the authoritarian tendencies of Presidents Yeltsin and Putin. He publicly opposed Russia's wars in Chechnya, its invasion of Georgia and its annexation of Crimea. He died in August 2021, just a few months before Memorial was closed down.Lyudmila Alexeyeva was a Soviet dissident and historian. Renowned for campaigning for fair trials for dissidents, she was forced to flee Russia in1977 to and did not return until 1993. Later, as head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, she refused to register the group as a 'foreign agentʼ and kept working for human rights without foreign financing. In 2012, she resigned from the Presidential Human Rights Council as it had little influence. She criticised legislation on foreign agents, the operation of the courts and human rights violations in prisons and opposed the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. Alexeyeva died in December 2018 at the age of 91.Memorial activists have been threatened, imprisoned, abducted and even assassinated over the years. In 2014, Memorial was designated a 'foreign agentʼ. It contested the designation but lost its case. In the last several years, the implementation of increasingly harsh laws on 'foreign agents', 'undesirable organisations' and broadly defined 'extremism' have allowed the Russian authorities to dissolve any civil society organisation that they dislike.The pressure on Memorial has increased particularly since 2018, when Oyub Titiev, the head of the Memorial branch in Chechnya, was sentenced to three years in prison on bogus charges. In 2020, Yury Dmitriyev, the head of the Memorial branch in Karelia, was sentenced to 13 years in prison on trumped-up charges. Russian courts began to impose numerous fines on various branches of Memorial.Ignoring the international outcry, including calls from the European Parliament, at the end of 2021, the Supreme Court of Russia ordered the International Memorial Society and its regional branches to close for violations of the foreign agents law. The next day, the Moscow City Court shut down the Memorial Human Rights Centre. Memorial's appeals of these decisions were rejected.
Hu Jia
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2008
Endangering his life through his activism, Hu Jia has brought the world’s attention to the Tiananmen Square massacre, AIDS issues and human rights abuses in China.One of his country's most vocal and respected democracy activists, Hu Jia lives under constant surveillance and endures periods of arbitrary detention, constant threats, beatings and harassment, which have escalated to a point where he feels his life is in danger and he fears for his family.Hu Jia is also a human rights and environmental activist, who tackled AIDS-related issues when HIV/AIDS was still a prohibited topic in China and the number of suspected cases was treated as a state secret. He has repeatedly called for an official inquiry into the Tiananmen Square massacre and compensation for the victims' families, and has been placed under house arrest around the anniversary of the Tiananmen killings every year since 2004, when he tried to lay flowers in the square.In 2007, via a conference call with the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights, he bravely drew attention to the fact that one million people have been persecuted by China's national security department for fighting for human rights, with many detained in prison, labour camps or mental hospitals. He called for 2008, the year of the Beijing Olympics, to be the year of human rights in China. As a result, Hu Jia was arrested on 27 December 2007 for inciting subversion of state power and was sentenced on 3 April 2008 to three and a half years imprisonment and denied his political rights for a year.When he was announced as the winner of the Sakharov Prize on its 20th anniversary, Hu Jia and his parents were pressured by state security police to refuse the prize. Hu Jia bravely accepted it, calling it 'an important prize for China'. Zeng Jinyan, his then-wife and co-nominee for the prize in 2007, addressed the award ceremony, which Hu Jia could not attend, via a video recording. She declared the award a recognition of the uphill struggle of Chinese human rights defenders, a struggle for which they and their relatives pay an extremely high price.In a letter to the President of the European Parliament sent in July 2012, Hu Jia said he considered the prize to be a 'truly a great honour' that 'provided [him] with encouragement and greatly improved the way [he] was treated in prison'.He was released in June 2011 and has remained in China to continue his outspoken criticism from within and to denounce the continuing crackdown on activists under President Xi Jinping. He sees this crackdown as a sign of nervousness by a regime seeking to maintain its hold on power against a growing tide of support for democracy.As a coordinator of the 'barefoot lawyers', an informal group of legal advisers who defend human rights activists in China, Hu Jia has warned that China's counterterrorism law restricts the right to a lawyer for those accused of terrorism in a country where, 'because the government controls propaganda, if they say you are a terrorist, then you are one.' He has also raised serious concerns that the Chinese authorities' programmes of mass surveillance are leading to digital totalitarianism in China.Hu is still kept under strict surveillance by the Chinese Government. In politically sensitive times, he is forced to take 'vacations' outside of Beijing in order to prevent him from addressing the media.
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Salih Mahmoud Osman
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2007
Sudanese lawyer Salih Mahmoud Mohamed Osman defends those who have been arbitrarily detained, tortured and abused by the authorities, despite having been detained himself.'I am a native of Darfur, born in Jebel Marra. I have worked as a lawyer in Darfur in Sudan for many years. I have been a victim of detention and torture because of my work. Members of my own family have been tortured and displaced by the militia in Darfur. For many years, in my work, I have represented thousands of people who needed my help in front of the courts. I have seen thousands of people who have been tortured, I have seen hundreds of women and young girls who have been victims of sexual abuse', Osman told the European Parliament when accepting the prize.He was himself detained by the authorities several times, but never charged with a crime. He has catalogued crimes that have taken place since war broke out in Jebel Marra in 2003, as Darfuris rebelled against the government, accusing it of discrimination, and has faced retaliation by pro-government militias.Osman is actively involved in the protection of the millions of Darfuris displaced from their homes by the ongoing fighting in Darfur, which intensified in 2015, with over 4 million people needing humanitarian aid. Osman emphasises that the causes that ignited the war, including the dispossession of land and political marginalisation, are not only still unresolved, but have been compounded by unmet demands to bring national laws into conformity with international standards and uphold the independence of the judiciary.Osman, who served as a member for the opposition in the Sudanese parliament between 2005 and 2010, is a staunch supporter of the International Criminal Court (ICC), as 'Africans have nowhere to turn to for justice and redress due to the lack of adequate judicial systems in Africa'. Osman supports the indictment on charges of war crimes of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.Osman continues to provide free legal assistance to the increasing number of victims of human rights violations in Darfur. In February 2018, he was detained by the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service amid widespread protests at rising food prices. He was released after four months of detention following pressure from the international community.On 9 January 2019, Salih Mahmoud Mohamed Osman was detained again in a new crackdown in Sudan. The European Parliament adopted an urgency resolution among other démarches insisting on his release. He was freed during the coup d'état in April 2019, which ushered in a political transition in his country.
Alaksandar Milinkievič
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2006
As leader of the democratic opposition Movement for Freedom in Belarus, Aliaksandr Milinkevich denounced the Belarusian regime’s offences against democracy and human rights.Milinkevich, a scientist, was chosen to be the joint presidential candidate of the United Democratic Opposition in October 2005. Urging a truly democratic future for Belarus, Milinkevich presented himself as a genuine alternative to the authoritarianism of President Lukashenko, whose victory was criticised by the opposition in Belarus and abroad for vote-rigging. After contesting the electoral results, Milinkevich was arrested under various pretexts, but no charges were ever brought against him.Milinkevich did not stand for the presidential elections in 2010, as he considered that no changes had been made to the national electoral regulations in order to ensure fair, free and open elections. Milinkevich denounced the further deterioration of the human rights situation in Belarus after this vote, which confirmed Lukashenko's hold on power.As a Sakharov Prize laureate and a leader of the opposition, Milinkevich is regularly consulted by parliamentary bodies concerned with Belarus, and has participated in Sakharov Prize Network events and conferences, and public debates. In a Sakharov Prize Network debate in Lithuania with Berta Soler of the Damas de Blanco, national authorities, MEPs and members of the Lithuanian parliament, Milinkevich denounced the incessant intimidation and humiliation perpetrated by the authorities against human rights defenders in Belarus. He declared his support for greater European integration for Belarus, and for a critical and constructive dialogue with the Belarusian authorities.Dialogue was a key element of Milinkevich's interventions during public network debates and hearings at the European Parliament. He urges greater EU engagement with Belarus in order to secure more freedoms for its people. Milinkevich posits that Belarus's need for economic assistance could be used as leverage to force the country into dialogue with the EU, including on human rights.As Belarus headed towards its fifth post-Soviet presidential election in October 2015, Milinkevich declared that he, or preferably a younger politician, should stand in the elections to challenge Lukashenko's hold on power. However, in April 2015 he decided not to run in these elections and not to support any candidate. In 2017, he registered the Free Belarus University fund in Warsaw, with the aim of creating a higher-education institution that will support new generations of free Belarusians.
Hauwa Ibrahim
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2005
Human rights lawyer Hauwa Ibrahim defends women and children sentenced by Sharia courts in Nigeria. She advocates education for girls as the foundation of a peaceful society.Hauwa Ibrahim was born into a Muslim family in the northern Nigerian village of Hinnah. There she learned the values that strengthened her resolve, including her mother's conviction that education was the only path out of poverty. Knowing she was going to be given away in marriage at the age of 10, Ibrahim ran away from home to a girl's boarding school so that she could continue her education. Ibrahim's intellectual interests, combined with her passion for justice, led her to study law. She became the first female lawyer in the Yamaltu/Deba district of Gombe State, and is now widely sought after for her legal counsel.When Sharia law was introduced in 12 northern states in Nigeria in 1999, it brought into question the protection of fundamental human rights, especially those of women. Ibrahim set up a groundbreaking legal practice, representing women and children sentenced by Sharia courts to death by stoning for adultery and to amputation for theft. She has defended over 150 cases free of charge, saving the lives of Amina Lawal, Safiya Hussaini, Hafsatu Abubakar and many others.From 2010 to 2013 Ibrahim was a research associate and visiting lecturer at Harvard Divinity School. She has also been a professor in several US and European universities. In May 2014, the President of Nigeria appointed her to the presidential fact‑finding committee on the abduction of over 200 female students by the terrorist group Boko Haram in northern Nigeria. Cited for her credibility and passion for human dignity, Ibrahim has urged international support from the European Parliament and the US Congress in addressing the unresolved tragedy of the kidnapped girls. She continues to voice the need for stronger action to address violence against women, abject poverty and lack of opportunities, in order to abate growing religious extremism.Based on her own experience, Ibrahim feels strongly that education is the key to the future and, furthermore, that the education of girls leads to the education of families and, consequently, of the community and society.Ibrahim invested her Sakharov Prize money in an endowment that provides educational opportunities for children in northern Nigeria. At the invitation of Prince El Hassan bin Talal, Ibrahim worked on issues of women's empowerment and social justice in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for West Asia‑North Africa in 2015. She is also working on issues of interfaith dialogue at the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies in Amman, Jordan. Since 2016 she has delivered an annual lecture to the Sakharov Fellows and international students at the Venice School of Human Rights, inspiring the audience with her own personal journey.In addition to her activity as a lawyer and a lecturer, Hauwa Ibrahim has founded several development initiatives, such as The Peace Institute and Mothers Without Borders. The purpose of both organisations is to lay the ground for a future of genuine peace and reconciliation through education and reconciliation, in Nigeria and abroad. In October 2017 she launched the project 'Mothers Without Borders: Steering Youth Away from Violent Extremism'.
Reporters Without Borders
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2005
Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontières – RSF), an international NGO, fights for freedom of information and freedom of expression, while also supporting persecuted journalists all over the world.For RSF, freedom of expression and freedom of information will always be the world's most important freedoms, and the foundations of any democracy. The organisation argues that 'if journalists were not free to report the facts, denounce abuses and alert the public, how would we resist the problem of child soldiers, defend women's rights, or preserve our environment?'RSF continuously monitors and denounces attacks on freedom of information worldwide, fights censorship and laws aimed at restricting freedom of information, assists morally and financially persecuted journalists and their families, and offers material assistance to war correspondents in order to enhance their safety. To circumvent censorship, it occasionally publishes articles that have been banned in their country of origin, hosts newspapers that have been closed down in their homeland, and serves as a forum for journalists who have been silenced by the authorities of their country. In order to ensure that the murderers and torturers of journalists are brought to trial, RSF's network has been providing victims with legal services and representing them in court since 2002.In 1992, RSF started awarding the annual Press Freedom Awards. This prize includes categories for courage, independence and impact. For several years, RSF also awarded the Netizen Prize to online media activists.Since 2012, RSF has published the World Press Freedom Index on an annual basis. The index ranks 180 countries according to the level of freedom available to journalists, and draws attention to any deterioration in freedom of information in the previous year. The criteria used to elaborate the Index are pluralism, media independence, media environment and self-censorship, legislative framework, transparency, and the quality of the infrastructure that supports the production of news and information. The premise for the World Press Freedom Index is that states will want to imitate and follow in the steps of the best-ranking countries in the Index.In 2018, RSF launched the Journalism Trust Initiative, which defines indicators for trustworthy journalism.
Ladies in White
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2005
Despite constant repression, the Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White), also known as the Damas, stage weekly peaceful protest marches to demand democracy and the release of political dissidents in Cuba.The Damas formed spontaneously in Cuba in 2003 in reaction to the imprisonment of 75 of their husbands and relatives during Cuba's Black Spring, a harsh crackdown on democracy activists by the Cuban regime. They marched in the streets and wrote many letters to the Cuban authorities asking for the prisoners' release, but did not get a single reply. The Damas did not give up and their persistent protests got results, with all Black Spring prisoners being released by 2011.The indomitable Damas carried on their fight for democracy and human rights in Cuba, and are the only group in the country permitted to stage weekly marches in a specific area. Ladies wearing white, carrying photographs of loved ones who are victims of repression in Cuba, and gladioli, a symbol of peace, walk down Havana's Fifth Avenue in Miramar every Sunday after mass at St Rita's Church, silent and strong in the face of threats, insults, assaults and frequent arrests.In 2013, the Damas were finally able to accept in person the Sakharov Prize they were awarded in 2005. President Berta Soler and movement representatives Belkis Cantillo Ramirez and Laura Maria Labrada Pollán, daughter of the beloved Damas co-founder Laura Pollán, who died in 2011, were allowed to exit Cuba and address the European Parliament, which recognised them for their courage and commitment to the cause of human rights. Berta Soler referred to the Sakharov Prize as a 'shield' that would protect the Damas on their return to Cuba.Shortly after the Sakharov award ceremony, the Damas and other dissidents, including the 2010 laureate Guillermo Fariñas, set up the International Platform for Human Rights in Cuba.Berta Soler, who has represented the Damas at the European Parliament and at Sakharov Prize Network events, has consistently called on the EU to make human rights a condition in any agreements with Cuba.The Damas have continued to be subjected to detention, beatings and torture, being among the groups most targeted for repression by the Cuban authorities. Against the background of the Cuban leadership change in April 2018, the Damas were subject to a new wave of repression, which culminated in dozens of detentions and at least two members being sent to prison. Furthermore, in 2018 Berta Soler was prevented from attending several events organised by the European Parliament, including the 30th anniversary conference of the Sakharov Prize.
Belarusian Association of Journalists
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2004
The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) was founded in 1995 to protect all journalists working under the threat of harassment, intimidation and persecution.Founded a year after Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenka assumed power, the BAJ has been the main association for the independent press in Belarus since its creation. From its base in Minsk and its five regional branches, the BAJ aims to provide the Belarusian public with the most objective, truthful, comprehensive and timely information. It also strives for high-quality and ethical journalism.The BAJ fights bitterly for press freedom in a country where media laws allow the authorities to shut down media outlets they consider to be too critical, and the penal code contains articles penalising the defamation of high-level officials. Foreign media outlets must obtain a licence to operate and their local contributors are often harassed by the state security police, while independent media outlets suffer economic discrimination. The BAJ denounced increasing legal repression in 2014, when fines were imposed and criminal charges brought against several of its members, including a charge of treason against one.A priority for the BAJ is to fight further restrictive amendments to the mass media law that came into effect in 2015, making it easier for the government to shut down websites. With the support of international press organisations, the BAJ is also pushing for the abolition of a provision forbidding freelance journalists from reporting in the country, in breach of European press freedom standards.In 2015, BAJ founder and long-time chair Zhanna Litvina stepped down. She continues to play an active role in the BAJ as a member of its board. A legendary journalist in her country, her career highlights include heading the Minsk Bureau of Radio Liberty and setting up and heading the short-lived but unique independent Belarusian-language 101.2 FM radio station. She led the BAJ for its first 20 years.When she stepped down in 2015, the BAJ elected Andrei Bastunets, a former deputy, as its new chair. Bastunets, a lawyer, is supported by four deputies: Aleh Aheyeu, Barys Haretski, Aliaksandr Starykevich and Alina Suravets.
Kofi Annan
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2003
As its Secretary-General, Kofi Annan led the UN to forge stronger ties with civil society in pursuit of its goals of peace, justice and human rights.The Sakharov Prize honoured in particular the UN's staff, who work tirelessly for world peace, often under difficult conditions. The prize was awarded in special memory of Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who, while serving as Kofi Annan's special representative in Iraq, was among those killed in an attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad in 2003.The United Nations, the only global body of its kind, not only continues to strive to keep or restore peace, protect human rights and establish the framework for international justice, it also deals with new international challenges such as the post-2015 development agenda, the current refugee crisis, international terrorism and climate change. The severe impact of the latter, Kofi Annan warned, could leave 'the living envying the dead'.In 2001 the UN and Kofi Annan were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Kofi Annan was the seventh UN Secretary-General. A Ghanaian diplomat, he served as Secretary-General from 1997 to 2006 and was the first Secretary-General to emerge from the ranks of the UN staff. He was a constant advocate of human rights, the rule of law, the millennium development goals and Africa, and sought to bring the UN closer to the global public by forging ties with civil society, the private sector and other partners.In 2005 Kofi Annan presented the UN General Assembly with a report entitled 'In Larger Freedom', in which he outlined his vision for a comprehensive and extensive reform of the UN. Among other measures this resulted in the creation, in March 2006, of a new Human Rights Council to replace the old Commission on Human Rights. The aim was to strengthen the UN's machinery for the promotion and protection of fundamental rights and for dealing with major human rights offenders.In 2007, after completing two terms as UN Secretary-General, Annan became involved in several organisations focusing on global and African issues, including his own Kofi Annan Foundation. From 2013 to 2018 he was chair of The Elders, a group of independent world leaders convened by Nelson Mandela in 2007, who aim to work together for peace and human rights. In 2012 he was appointed UN-Arab League Joint Special Envoy for Syria, a position he quit after becoming frustrated with the international community's failure to agree on a comprehensive peace plan for Syria. He subsequently chaired the UN's Advisory Commission on Rakhine State.Kofi Annan died in August 2018 at the age of 80, after a short illness. In a statement after his death, António Guterres, the current UN Secretary-General, described him as 'a guiding force for good'.
Oswaldo Payá
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2002
As the founder of the Varela Project, Oswaldo Payá fought for civil rights, free pluralist elections, the release of political prisoners, and economic and social reform in Cuba.An active reformer since his youth, he was persecuted and condemned on several occasions for his criticism of Fidel Castro's policies and injustices. That did not stop him from founding the Christian Liberation Movement in 1988, which became one of the largest opposition movements in Cuba.In 1997, Payá drew up the ambitious Varela Project, which contained the first legal steps towards the free participation of Cubans in Cuba's political and economic life through freedom of speech and assembly and the release of all political prisoners. Though supported by thousands of Cubans, Payá's Varela Project was blocked by a counter initiative from the Cuban authorities making the socialist nature of the Cuban state permanent, an initiative the authorities claimed was approved by a plebiscite. Many of the Varela Project campaigners were imprisoned during the Black Spring of 2003, but Payá did not give up.In 2008 he presented a draft law on amnesty for political prisoners to the national assembly, and in 2010 he launched the Foro Todos Cubanos.Payá was never imprisoned, but his family say he received many death threats. On 22 July 2012, he lost his life in a controversial car crash in Cuba. The then president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, in homage, stated his belief that 'Oswaldo Payá's ideas will survive as his work and commitment have inspired a generation of Cuban activists who were following his example in promoting political freedom and human rights'.The Christian Liberation Movement continues to call for clarification of the circumstances of Payá's death. His family has rejected the official account of his death as an accident. His daughter, Rosa María, has pleaded for an impartial international inquiry into her father's death before the UN Human Rights Council and other international organisations, including the European Parliament, and denounced the persecution and threats inflicted on the family by state security agents. In 2013 Payá'' family moved to the United States, in what they said was a temporary displacement.Payá's daughter represented him at the Sakharov Prize 25th Anniversary Conference at the European Parliament in 2013. In the conference's outcome declaration, the Sakharov Prize community called for 'an inquiry into the death of Sakharov Prize laureate 2002 Oswaldo Payá'.
Dom Zacarias Kamwenho
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2001
Civil and religious leader Dom Zacarias Kamwenho inspired the Angolan people to stand up for their rights and played a critical role in the peace process that led to the end of the country’s civil war.Born in Chimbundo in 1934 and ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1961, he was made Archbishop of Lubango in 1995. Kamwenho was at the forefront of a movement that, by the late 1990s, through his efforts and those of other church and civil society leaders, had inspired in the Angolan people an increasing awareness of the need to fight for peace and human rights and foster 'inclusive national reconciliation'.He was President of the Inter-Church Committee for Peace in Angola, founded in 2000. This ecumenical body brought together the Catholic Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé, of which he was also president, the Evangelical Alliance of Angola, and the Council of Christian Churches of Angola.Kamwenho mediated between the warring sides to bring peace to a country riven by 27 years of on-off conflict along ethnic and ideological lines, which served as a surrogate battleground for the Cold War, with large-scale involvement by Cuba, South Africa, the United States and the USSR, leaving over half a million people dead and millions displaced, devastating Angola's infrastructure and inflicting grievous damage on its economy and institutions.In awarding him the Sakharov Prize in 2001, the European Parliament recognised Kamwenho's firm, unbiased and persistent fight for peace, democracy and human rights in Angola. He has fearlessly criticised both the governing Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola and the rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola and in 2001 mediated between them for an end to the civil war that had been raging in Angola since its independence from Portugal in 1975. Kamwenho and other religious and civil leaders are largely credited with bringing about the ceasefire in 2002 and the ensuing peace talks.In 2003, Archbishop Kamwenho resigned as chair of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé, but continued to work actively through his diocese and the Ecumenical Committee for Peace in Angola to promote democracy, respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights, the implementation of the rule of law and lasting national reconciliation.In 2009, having reached the retirement age of 75, Kamwenho became Archbishop Emeritus. He continues to work in his community, addressing corruption, a lack of ethical values and other challenges stemming from the legacy of war.
Izzat Ghazzawi
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2001
Despite being imprisoned, censored and losing of his son, Izzat Ghazzawi was courageous in promoting the cause of peaceful dialogue and partnership between Israelis and Palestinians.Izzat Ghazzawi (1952-2003) was a Palestinian writer and academic whose writings focused on the troubles and suffering brought about by the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and his own personal tragedy. His life was marked by the killing of his 16-year-old son, Ramy, by the Israeli army in 1993. Ramy was killed in the courtyard of his school as he went to help a wounded friend. Despite his heartbreak, Ghazzawi never stopped seeking cultural and political dialogue with the Israeli people.Born of refugee parents into a large family that had fled to the West Bank in 1948, Ghazzawi wrote his first play at the age of 13. He gained a master's degree in American-British literature and lectured at Birzeit University. He chaired the Union of Palestinian Writers, wrote novels and short stories, was a literary critic, and organised the first International Writers' Conference in Palestine in 1997.Ghazzawi was also a member of the executive bureau of the Palestinian Council for Justice and Peace. He was imprisoned and punished on a number of occasions by the Israeli authorities for his political activities. At these times, he found that the hardest thing to endure was the separation from his family, particularly his six children, whom he could only see two at a time, for 30 minutes a fortnight.A meeting with Israeli writers in Jerusalem in 1992, about which Ghazzawi was initially apprehensive, proved to be a turning point for him. It was then that he began to see his Israeli colleagues as partners for building a future in which Palestinians and Israelis would be equals in all walks of life.Presenting Ghazzawi with his Sakharov Prize in 2001, the then President of the European Parliament, Nicole Fontaine, paid homage to him for having 'untiringly promoted the cause of peace and dialogue between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. Your ardour has never slackened, despite imprisonment and censorship and, worse than all else, the irreplaceable loss of your 16-year-old son Ramy.'At the European Parliament, Ghazzawi spoke of the healing we can achieve when we are 'able to understand each other's needs'.Shortly after his son's death, Ghazzawi, together with the Israeli writer Abraham B. Yehoshua and the Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani, published Enemies, a book on relations between Palestinians and Israelis that became hugely successful.Izzat Ghazzawi died on 4 April 2003.
Nurit Peled-Elhanan
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2001
A university lecturer and author, Nurit Peled-Elhanan is committed to changing the views of Israeli society towards Palestine. Her writing promotes tolerance, diversity and the right to education.In 1997, her 13-year-old daughter Smadar was killed in a suicide attack carried out by a Palestinian in West Jerusalem.ʻMy little girl was killed just because she was an Israeli by a young man who was oppressed and exasperated to the point of suicide and murder just because he was a Palestinian. Both are victims of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Now their blood is mixed on the stones of Jerusalem that have always been indifferent to bloodʼ, Peled said when her daughter died. She did not allow anyone from the Israeli authorities, including the prime minister, to attend the funeral.Herself the daughter of the famous Israeli general Matti Peled, renowned for his pacifist and progressive campaigning, Nurit Peled (born in 1949) has become a symbol of those in Israel who fight against the occupation and for the freedom of Palestine.She is also very committed to changing the mentality of Israeli society, in particular the young generation. One of her publications, entitled Palestine in Israeli School Books: Ideology and Propaganda in Education, she draws attention to an apparent trend in Israeli schools towards racism rather than tolerance and diversity. She has been strong in her criticism of world leaders including George Bush, Tony Blair and Ariel Sharon for 'infecting their respective citizens with blind fear of the Muslimsʼ.Nurit Peled-Elhanan is a co-initiator of the Russell tribunal, an international peopleʼs tribunal established in 2009 to examine the role and complicity of third parties in the violations of international law committed by Israel against the Palestinian people.She is committed to defending the rights of Palestinians and urges support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction campaign against Israel until such time as it complies with international law and respects Palestinian rights.Peled is particularly vocal in her defence of Palestinian children and their right to education and has advocated strongly on their behalf at Sakharov Prize network events and in meetings with the European Parliament, including in Jerusalem. In the aftermath of the 2014 Gaza War, Peled, in a passionate and emotional speech at a Human Rights Subcommittee hearing on the situation of children in armed conflicts, held Israel responsible for the situation of Palestinians in Gaza.Together with fellow Sakharov laureates Salima Ghezali and Taslima Nasreen, Peled has also published an opinion calling on ʻleaders and representatives of the EU to actively and openly encourage the Palestinian Authority to join the ICCʼ.
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought Laureates (2000 ~ 1991)
¡Basta Ya!
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2000
¡Basta Ya! (‘enough is enough’) was a popular citizens’ initiative against terrorism and political violence in Spain’s Basque Country.¡Basta Ya! was a reaction to the terrorism of the Basque separatist group ETA and the threat posed by the group and its political arm to basic civil liberties and human rights. Its members came from differing ideological backgrounds, but all were committed to opposing terrorism of any kind, to supporting all victims of terrorism and political violence, and to defending the rule of law, the Spanish constitution and the statute of autonomy of the Basque Country. ¡Basta Ya! enjoyed unprecedented nationwide support in 1999 and 2000 in the midst of growing national outrage against ETA, which had killed hundreds of people in different parts of Spain and victimised thousands across the Basque Country through intimidation, extortion, blackmail and attacks, including on families and property.The movement was opposed to all forms of nationalism and criticised the Basque Country authorities for nationalistic policies and rhetoric. In two large demonstrations in 2000, ¡Basta Ya! brought thousands of people out onto the streets of San Sebastián calling for effective policies to defeat terrorism and for the constitution to be upheld.That same year, ¡Basta Ya! was recognised by the European Parliament for its active campaigning for human rights, democracy and tolerance in the Basque Country. The prize was not only a recognition of ¡Basta Ya!'s work, but also an acknowledgement that terrorism in the Basque Country was a European problem and not simply a Spanish one. ¡Basta Ya! gained the support of international human rights organisations, and other countries moved to list ETA as a terrorist group.The nature of ¡Basta Ya! has changed in recent years as the situation in Spain has evolved, with ETA declaring a definitive cessation to its armed activities in 2011 before its final dissolution in 2018.In 2007 several ¡Basta Ya! leaders, including spokesperson Fernando Savater, who represented the organisation at the European Parliament and Sakharov Prize Network conferences, founded the political party Unión Progreso y Democracia on a platform of support for Spanish unity. Some members of the party were elected to the European Parliament for the 2014-2019 term. ¡Basta Ya!'s members believe its ideas and spirit live on in the fight for human rights now led by others.
Xanana Gusmão
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 1999
Once the leader of East Timor’s (Timor-Leste’s) struggle for freedom and self-determination, Xanana Gusmão became the nation’s first president and later served as its prime minister.Gusmão's political career began in the 1970s with the movement to assert East Timor's independence from Portugal. It took more than two decades of hard struggle for an independent East Timor to be born. Just days after its declaration of independence following Portugal's unilateral withdrawal in 1975, Indonesia invaded the country, crushing resistance with force. The violence that followed the invasion is estimated to have cost 200 000 lives.Known by his nom de guerre 'Kay Rala', Gusmão joined the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor and was elected by its first national conference as leader of the resistance and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor.As resistance leader, Gusmão conceived and implemented a policy of national unity, the success of which led to the formation of the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT), where Gusmão managed to bring together the various political and social groupings.Gusmão was taken prisoner by Indonesian forces in 1992, a year after the world's attention was finally captured by the massacre of more than 250 people at a memorial procession in Dili. He was imprisoned in Indonesia on charges of separatism. In prison, he studied Bahasa Indonesian, English and law. He also wrote poetry and painted artworks that were sold to finance the resistance he continued to lead. Together with his vice-president in the CNRT, Jose Ramos Horta, Xanana Gusmão sought to secure a peaceful solution to the conflict by crafting a peace plan that included a UN-supervised referendum on the future of East Timor. He was visited in jail by a number of high-level personalities, including South African President Nelson Mandela and UN and US representatives, as it was clear that he would maintain a pivotal role in ending the war with Indonesia.Gusmão had just been released from prison in 1999 following huge international pressure, having served seven years of his 20-year term, when the European Parliament awarded him the Sakharov Prize. The prize acknowledged his role as the leader of the Timorese resistance and symbol of his people's fight for freedom. When freed - shortly after the UN-sponsored referendum of 30 August 1999, in which 80 % of the population of East Timor voted for independence, heralding the end of the Indonesian occupation and the beginning of the transitional process led by the UN - Gusmão promised 'to do everything in my power to bring peace to East Timor and my people'.In April 2002, Gusmão won the first free presidential elections held in East Timor with huge popular support. On 20 May 2002, then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan officially declared the Democratic Republic of East Timor an independent state and Gusmão served it as president until May 2007. In 2008, while serving as prime minister, he survived an assassination attempt. He resigned the premiership in February 2015, wishing to make space for a younger generation of leaders, and served as minister for planning and strategic investment. In 2018, he concluded negotiations with Australia on maritime border delimitation as the representative of East Timor. His coalition of political parties won the elections in May 2018. After the elections, he became adviser to the new prime minister.
Ibrahim Rugova
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 1998
Working tirelessly towards peaceful solutions and dialogue, the first President of Kosovo dedicated his life to the non-violent resistance of ethnic Albanians against Serbian oppression.Born in Cerrcë, Kosovo, in 1944, Rugova studied in Prishtina and at the Sorbonne. He taught literature, authored 10 books and presided over the Kosovo Writers' Union, which was at the heart of growing ethnic Albanian opposition to Serbian rule in Kosovo. In 1989 he founded the Democratic League of Kosovo, the first political party to challenge the communist regime directly, as Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milošević revoked Kosovo's autonomous region status and imposed Serbian control.In the face of increasing oppression, Rugova headed the political movement that declared the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. In 1992, he was elected president of a republic recognised only by Albania. In the face of the subsequent Serbian crackdown, he launched a system of education, hospitals and taxation for the ethnic Albanian population in Kosovo, parallel to the Serbian system.A soft-spoken politician who always wore a trademark silk scarf, Rugova was seen throughout the 1990s as the moderate, intellectual face of Albanian opposition to the Belgrade regime. He secured a second term as president in 1998, even as the armed conflict between Serbian units and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), an Albanian guerrilla movement, escalated, precipitating a major Yugoslav military crackdown.The European Parliament honoured Rugova with the Sakharov Prize in 1998, as a man committed to the principle of peaceful resistance to violence. Rugova viewed the prize as representing 'for me and for all the people of Kosovo, recognition of our peaceful struggle and our sacrifices'.He remained firm in his non-violent opposition to the Serbian regime, constantly reiterating his willingness to enter into dialogue with Belgrade, which put him at odds with the more nationalistic Adem Demaçi, his principal political rival. The 'Gandhi of the Balkans' endeavoured to win over world opinion as he urged the international community to offer Kosovo protection.Rugova, as chief of Kosovo's negotiators, signed the internationally brokered Rambouillet peace agreement on 18 March 1999, but Belgrade's refusal to endorse it led to the launch of NATO bombing attacks. As Kosovo came under UN administration, Rugova, having briefly left Kosovo for Italy in 1999, returned to Kosovar politics, sharing power with KLA leaders who were now at the helm of the Democratic Party. In 2002, Rugova was re-elected as president and served until his death from lung cancer in 2006, just days before negotiations on Kosovo's final status were due to begin. To many, he was the 'father of the nation'.
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Salima Ghezali
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 1997
Editor-in-chief of the critical newspaper La Nation and President of the Association for the Emancipation of Women, Salima Ghezali advocates women’s rights, democracy and political dialogue in Algeria.A teacher turned journalist, in 1994 she became editor-in-chief of the French language La Nation, the most widely read weekly in Algeria. Until its closure by the authorities in 1996, La Nation was the only paper to criticise both the government and Islamist groups and to advocate political dialogue, human rights and freedom of expression for all sides engaged in the 11-year civil war. The war began in 1991 after the first multi-party elections in Algeria since independence were cancelled owing to fears of an Islamist win, and cost the lives of tens of thousands of people.Currently the President of the Association for the Emancipation of Women, Ghezali became involved in the Algerian women's movement in the 1980s, as a founder member of Women of Europe and the Maghreb and as editor-in-chief of NYSSA, the women's publication she herself founded.Ghezali was part of a human rights community 'that seemed small and powerless', at the moment when her courageous defence of freedom of speech and her work for women's rights were recognised by the European Parliament in 1997. Ghezali turned a spotlight on the dramatic situation in Algeria following years of war, with millions of men, women and children living in fear as 'a double terror denies them the first freedom, the freedom to live'.Ghezali resumed the publication of La Nation online in 2011 as the Arab Spring awakenings shook neighbouring countries, writing, 'we cannot be indifferent to the dynamics of the young people in the Arab world who are fighting for their dignity and freedom. We cannot be indifferent to what is happening in our country. We want the Algerian people to be happy, because they deserve it. We want strong institutions, better human resources in a real democracy and the rule of law.'Since 2000, Ghezali has also been politically engaged as a member of the Front des Forces Socialistes (FFS, Socialist Forces Front) and advisor to historical FFS leader Hocine Aït Ahmed. In 2017, she was elected to the Popular National Assembly, the Algerian lower chamber, as a representative of Algiers. In October 2018, following an article she published on the Tout Sur l'Algérie site, denouncing the interference of the military in the political life, she was excluded from the party. In September 2019, she resigned from her mandate as member of the Assembly.Together with fellow laureates Nurit Peled and Taslima Nasreen, she has published an opinion calling on 'leaders and representatives of the EU, to actively and openly encourage the Palestinian Authority to join the ICC'.
Wei Jingsheng
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 1996
A leader of the opposition to the Chinese regime, Wei Jingsheng denounces human rights violations and fights for democracy. He remains unsilenced by prison and exile.Wei is the author of 'The Courage to Stand Alone: Letters from Prison and Other Writings', a set of articles he initially wrote in prison on toilet paper, now published in more than a dozen languages.He was sentenced to jail twice, for 29 years in total, and served more than 18 years for his activities and writings in support of democracy, including his groundbreaking 1978 essay 'The Fifth Modernisation: Democracy'. This manifesto began as a signed wall poster on the Democracy Wall in Beijing, on which workers, artists and intellectuals exercised their freedom of expression. Wei's essay caused a sensation, not only because it openly assaulted the 'people's democratic dictatorship' of the Communists, but also because he dared to sign it with both his real name and contact information.Writing in 1979 in Exploration, an underground magazine Wei founded and edited, he wrote an article entitled ʻDemocracy or a new dictatorship?ʼ, which identified Deng Xiaoping, then Communist leader, as the new dictator. Arrested within days, Wei was convicted of ʻcounter-revolutionʼ and jailed for 15 years. He was on death row, then in solitary confinement, and then forced labour camps under strict supervision until 1993, when he was released following Chinaʼs decision to apply to host the 2000 Olympic Games.Wei was arrested a second time within six months of his release, tried again, convicted of ʻcounter-revolutionʼ and sentenced to another 14 years in jail. At the time of his Sakharov Prize award in 1996, he was still in prison. In 1997, after overwhelming international pressure, including from then US President Bill Clinton, Wei was taken from his cell and promptly deported to the United States. He maintains he was not freed and that his exile was but further punishment. From Washington, Wei leads the Wei Jinsheng Foundation, the Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition and the Asia Democracy Alliance, as he continues to be an active and strong voice for democracy and human rights in China.
Leyla Zana
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 1995
The first Kurdish woman to be elected to the Turkish Parliament in 1991, Leyla Zana’s fight for democracy symbolises her people’s struggle for dignity and human rights.In June 2015, Zana again made history as a member of the first pro-Kurdish political party to win representation in the Turkish Assembly, with an agenda of peace and inclusion of minorities.Born in 1961, her traditionalist father only allowed her to attend elementary school for a year and a half. At the age of 14 she was married to Mehdi Zana, a man 20 years her senior, who became the mayor of Diyarbakir and later became a political prisoner during the military rule in the 1980s. Leyla Zana was imprisoned for two months after leading a protest of families who were prohibited from visiting their relatives in prison. She learnt Turkish as a result of her visits to her husband in prison, as security forces were violent towards anyone speaking Kurdish. Starting school at the age of 23, Zana earned her primary and secondary school diplomas in three years and eventually took on an unsolicited leadership role.Overwhelmingly elected to the Turkish assembly in 1991, she took her oath in Kurdish during her swearing-in ceremony, at a time when speaking Kurdish in the public arena was still a criminal offence: 'I take this oath for the brotherhood between the Turkish people and the Kurdish people.' For this she was stripped of parliamentary immunity, and in 1994 she was sentenced to 15 years of incarceration for treason and membership of the armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). At her sentencing, Zana stated that 'I don't accept any of these accusations, and if they were true I'd assume responsibility for them, even if it cost me my life. I have defended democracy, human rights and brotherhood between peoples and I'll keep doing so for as long as I live.' In 1995, the European Parliament awarded her the Sakharov Prize as a symbol of her peaceful struggle for human rights and the dignity of the Kurdish people.In 2004, Zana was finally able to address the European Parliament upon her release from prison on a technicality following a European Court of Human Rights ruling and international pressure.Zana has since had various court cases brought against her, but has not served further prison time. In 2014, the Supreme Court of Appeals found that evidence of Zana's alleged membership of the PKK was not credible.In 2009, she was handed a five-year ban from joining any political party, but was nevertheless re-elected as an independent in 2011. Once her ban expired in 2014, she joined the Peoples' Democratic Party, which in the June 2015 elections became the first pro-Kurdish party to surpass the 10 % threshold for parliamentary representation. She was elected to a seat in the Turkish Parliament, but in 2016 she was prevented from attending parliamentary sessions, again because she swore her oath of office in Kurdish and included a call for peace in the wording of the oath. In 2018, she was removed from office by a majority vote due to her failure to carry out her daily parliamentary work.Zana was actively involved in the peace negotiations that led PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan to make his historic call in 2013 for the party to move from armed resistance to a democratic political struggle after three decades of conflict.
Taslima Nasrin
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 1994
Exiled from Bangladesh and Bengal for her secular views, the writer Taslima Nasreen fights against the oppression of women and opposes all forms of religious extremism.Born in Bangladesh in 1962, Taslima Nasreen started writing when she was 13. She is known for her powerful works on the oppression of women and her unflinching criticism of religion, despite her forced exile and the multiple fatwas calling for her death. She is an award-winning author whose writings have been translated into 30 different languages.Nasreen studied medicine and practised gynaecology in Bangladesh. Following the publication of Lajja in 1993, she was criticised by Islamic fundamentalists and several hundred thousand people demonstrated against her books. After spending two months in hiding, at the end of 1994 she escaped to Sweden. A secular humanist and human rights activist living in exile, she abandoned the medical profession and focused on writing. Owing to her thoughts and ideas, some of her books are banned in Bangladesh, and she herself is barred from Bengal. She was also forced out of West Bengal in eastern India in 2011, which she regards as her second home, by a fatwa issued by Kolkata clerics.When she won the 1994 Sakharov Prize she had already sought refuge in Europe, living in exile in France and then in Sweden. In her acceptance speech, she said that she came from a part of the world where social tensions and human difficulties were unbearable and, as a writer, she could not close her eyes to the daily suffering and starvation.A campaigner against extremism in all religions, Nasreen has urged support for the secular movements in Bangladesh to counteract the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. Together with fellow Sakharov laureates Nurit Peled and Salima Ghezali, Nasreen has also published an opinion calling on ʻleaders and representatives of the EU to actively and openly encourage the Palestinian Authority to join the ICCʼ.In 2015, she wrote publicly of the need to reform and modernise Islam in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris. She stated that ʻprinciples of freedom of expression alone wonʼt do any good. One has to know what mantra makes terrorists tick and influences them to take up arms. It is important to stop the indoctrination of children with irrational religious faith at home or institutions like madrassas or mosques.ʼIn 2018, her book Split: A Life was published in English. The book, originally written in Bengali, was banned in Bangladesh for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Muslim community. She is vocal and active on education and gender equality.
Oslobođenje
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 1993
The journalists of Sarajevo’s Oslobođenje newspaper risked their lives fighting to maintain the unity and ethnic diversity of their country during the war in the former Yugoslavia.Oslobođenje, the name of the Bosnian daily, means 'liberation'. It gave a lifeline to people caught in the siege of Sarajevo between 1992 and 1996, during the war in the former Yugoslavia. Throughout the conflict, it managed to go to print every single day except one.Oslobođenje employed Bosnians, Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats. Not one of them left the newspaper when war broke out, even though they could have done so. They stayed and fought to maintain the unity and ethnic diversity of their city and their country. They proved that it was not impossible for Serbs, Croats and Muslims to live together in peace.By the end of the war, of the 75 courageous journalists who risked their lives day after day, five had been killed and 25 wounded. All suffered personal tragedies, including the deaths of their loved ones. Oslobođenje's offices, located in one of Sarajevo's most dangerous combat zones, were reduced to rubble. The staff moved into a bomb shelter, improvising power generators from old Lada engines and crossing 'Snipers' Alley' every day on the way to work, with gunners so close by they could hear them chatting and singing.'Our efforts were directed against death and against the partition or even complete eradication of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the map,' said Zlatko Dizdarević, one of the editors at the time.Oslobođenje's staff made their daily work a symbol of their resistance. Journalists delivered newspapers when the drivers found it too dangerous, and when Oslobođenje's network of 700 kiosks throughout Bosnia was burned down, the news pages were cut and faxed, then glued together so that citizens in other battered cities such as Mostar could read them.Oslobođenje's staff were named International Editors of the Year in 1993 by the World Press Review for their 'bravery, tenacity, and dedication to the principles of journalism'. They went on to win several other journalism awards.In 2006 the paper was acquired by two of the city's largest businesses. According to Oslobođenje's website, while the organisation has changed a great deal, its 'commitment to liberty and justice remains strong'.
Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 1992
The ‘Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo’ led a peaceful resistance movement against the military dictatorship and repression in Argentina in response to the forced disappearance and torture of political opponents.The movement was born out of attempts by several Argentinian mothers to find their 'disappeared' children during Argentina's Dirty War (1976-1983). During this time, the military regime abducted, tortured and killed thousands of political opponents, stealing children born to prisoners and obliterating any trace of its victims.Las Madres, most of whom were apolitical housewives, were the ones who dared to protest against the military at the height of the dictatorship and, after the fall of the regime, it was they who called for officials involved in the repression to be judged. Hundreds of these officials have since been found guilty. The movement was launched on 30 April 1977, when 14 mothers staged the first protest in the Plaza de Mayo, in front of the presidential Casa Rosada. Although they were ordered to disperse, the courageous mothers began to walk slowly, arm-in-arm, around the square. Every week more mothers joined the protests as left-wing activists and people accused of collaborating with them continued to be 'disappeared'.Las Madres began to attract international attention with their emblematic white scarves, the photos and names of their disappeared children and their pleas for their safe return. The regime killed three of the founding members of the movement in an attempt to shut it down. In December 1977, Azucena Villaflor de Vincenti, Mary Ponce de Bianco and Esther Ballestrino de Careaga were abducted, tortured and thrown to their deaths from an aeroplane. Other members of Las Madres were beaten and detained but continued their peaceful resistance. Las Madres turned their focus to demanding justice as massive human rights abuses, a plunging economy and the loss of the Falklands War brought an end to the military regime in 1983.Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo split in 1986. The main association, headed by Hebe de Bonafini, refused to acknowledge the death of Argentinian dissidents until those responsible for their murder were brought to justice. A breakaway group called the Founding Line focused on the recovery of the victims' remains.In 1992, when the European Parliament recognised Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo with the Sakharov Prize, the association was fiercely resisting the conclusion of the trials related to the abuses of the dictatorship.Hebe de Bonafini, who was elected leader of the undivided Madres in 1979 and still leads the association today, accepted the Sakharov Prize on behalf of the mothers' children 'who were the first to struggle for freedom'. Las Madres used the prize money to finance their various social initiatives, which include the Universidad Popular Madres de Plaza de Mayo.Las Madres continue their Thursday march in the Plaza de Mayo, accompanied by crowds of supporters, while questions remain over the fate of their missing children. Hebe de Bonafini passed away on 20 November 2022.
Adem Demaçi
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 1991
Taking a stand against the harsh repressions of the Serbian regime, the ‘Mandela of the Balkans’ devoted himself to the promotion of tolerance and ethnic reconciliation in Kosovo.Adem Demaçi is a symbol of the struggle for Kosovo's independence. Involved as a senior leader in the country's politics for many years, Demaçi was also a long-time political prisoner who spent a total of 28 years in jail for speaking out against the treatment of ethnic Albanians and criticising communism under Yugoslav dictator Josip Broz Tito.A writer born in Prishtina, Kosovo, in 1936, Demaçi published his first short stories when he was still in secondary school. He went on to study literature, law and education, and between 1953 and 1958 he published around 20 short stories and a novel entitled 'The snakes of blood', which gained him literary fame. Demaçi's writings led to his first arrest in 1958. Thereafter, up to 1990, Demaçi spent a great deal of his life in prison for fighting for the fundamental rights of the Albanians in Kosovo. He was recognised by the human rights community as a prisoner of conscience and became known at the 'Mandela of the Balkans'. After his release, Demaçi took on the leadership of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms.In 1991 the European Parliament awarded Demaçi the Sakharov Prize for integrity in his opposition to 'an authoritarian and intolerant regime'. Accepting the prize as homage to the people of Kosovo, Demaçi stated that 'freedom of speech is the first, crucial step towards democracy. Without freedom of speech there is no dialogue, without dialogue the truth cannot be established, and without the truth progress is impossible.'Demaçi embarked on a political career in 1996, joining the Parliamentary Party of Kosovo and becoming its chair. He called for open protests against the Serbian regime on the grounds that non-violence does not mean passivity. He began a visible yet non-violent protest campaign against Serbian rule, calling on Kosovars to stand still in the streets for one minute at precisely the same time. As the head of the second-largest party in Kosovo, Demaçi refused to run against his main rival, Ibrahim Rugova, in elections scheduled in 1998, feeling it was not appropriate 'to play political games' while the armed conflict escalated amid Serbia's crackdown on Kosovo.Demaçi joined the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) as its political representative in 1998, after he came to believe that the policy of non-violence would not bring freedom to the people of Kosovo, who, he believed, had a right to resist the harsh repression they were suffering. Demaçi left the KLA in 1999 in protest at its decision to attend the Rambouillet peace talks to end the conflict with Serbia. He criticised the proposed deal for failing to guarantee Kosovo's independence.He stayed in Kosovo during the conflict that was reignited by the failure of the talks in 1999, and criticised other leaders, including Rugova, for leaving the country at such a historic moment. Demaçi described Kosovo during the war as 'the biggest prison in Europe'. He was himself arrested twice by the Serbian authorities.After the war, he devoted himself mainly to ethnic reconciliation and the return of refugees. Demaçi became chair of the Committee for Mutual Understanding, Tolerance and Coexistence, representing all ethnic groups in Kosovo, 'because Kosovo belongs to everyone' and 'we want a free, democratic and multi-ethnic society'.Demaçi died in Prishtina in July 2018, at the age of 82. His death was marked in Kosovo by three days of national mourning.
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought Laureates (1990 ~ 1991)
Aung San Suu Kyi
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 1990
Former political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi spearheaded Myanmar’s pro-democratic struggle against the country’s military dictatorship. Under house arrest at the time of the award, she was only able to receive the Sakharov Prize in person 23 years later – on 22 October 2013.At an award ceremony at the European Parliament, the long-time political prisoner made a vigorous case for democratic values, emphasising that Myanmar's transition towards them was incomplete. She noted that the constitution ensured a privileged role for the military, and that this should be changed to guarantee the right of citizens of Myanmar to shape their own destiny. She called on the international community to support the development of democracy and human rights in Myanmar and acknowledged the European Parliament's long-standing support for her cause.Suu Kyi is the daughter of Aung San, a national hero of independent Myanmar who was assassinated when she was two years old, and Khin Kyi, a prominent diplomat. She witnessed a brutal crackdown on protesters opposing the military regime when she returned to her country in 1988. The massacres led Suu Kyi, known as 'The Lady', to begin her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights. In 1990, she led her National League for Democracy to an overwhelming victory in the country's elections, but the military junta refused to hand over power and cracked down on the League's supporters with arrests and bloody reprisals.After 1990, Suu Kyi spent almost two decades in prison or under house arrest. Her British husband was diagnosed with cancer in 1997, but the authorities refused to allow him to visit her in Myanmar and urged her to leave the country instead. She refused, knowing she would not be allowed to return. She never saw her husband again. He died in 1999.In 2010, Myanmar held its first elections in two decades and Suu Kyi was released six days later. She ran for office in the parliamentary elections of April 2012, in which her party won 43 out of the 45 open seats. In 2015, the National League for Democracy won a majority in the presidential elections. As Aung San Suu Kyi was constitutionally barred from becoming president because of 'strong ties with a foreign national' (due to her husband and sons being British), her long-time ally Htin Kyaw took up the post. Suu Kyi became State Councillor and Minister for Foreign Affairs.Starting in 2016, Suu Kyi faced heavy criticism internationally for her unwillingness to denounce the persecution of the Rohingya minority by Myanmar's military and for not taking a stand against the prosecution of journalists in her country. In 2017, a military crackdown forced more than 600 000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. The European Parliament called on Suu Kyi to condemn these persecutions, which she refused to do.In 2020, the European Parliament's Conference of Presidents decided to suspend Aung San Suu Kyi from the activities of the Sakharov Prize Community. This came in response to her failure to defend and safeguard the rights of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, and her condonation of the military's related human rights violations and breaches of international law.Her party won the general elections in November 2020. At the beginning of 2021, the Myanmar military arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and removed her from power. Trials behind closed doors resulted in multiple prison sentences each for Suu Kyi and other politicians. The international community has condemned these trials as politically motivated.
Alexander Dubček
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 1989
A leading figure in the Prague Spring, Alexander Dubček strove to achieve democratic and economic reform. He continued to fight for freedom, sovereignty and social justice throughout his life.Born in 1921 into a family committed to building socialism in the Soviet Union, he secretly joined the Communist Party and the underground resistance against the pro-German Slovak state in 1939.In 1968, Dubček, a devoted communist, became the new First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and sought to liberalise the Communist regime. He began a series of reforms, granting greater freedom of expression to the press, rehabilitating victims of the Stalin-era political purges and initiating economic reforms and a wide-ranging democratisation of Czechoslovak political life. However, his reforms raised concern in Moscow and his endeavours to give socialism a human face were shattered on 21 August 1968 when Warsaw Pact tanks seized control of Prague. Dubček was kidnapped by the KGB, taken to the Kremlin and briefly detained.In 1970, he was accused of treason, stripped of office and expelled from the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. For 15 years he lived as an ordinary worker and only returned to political life as a civil rights activist in 1988.When he was awarded the Sakharov Prize on 22 November 1989, Dubček was still a citizen deprived of his human rights, but, just a few days later, on 28 November, Czechoslovakia's Communist Party relinquished its hold on power, toppled by the Velvet Revolution.In a message to the European Parliament on 10 December 1989, just four days before he died, Andrei Sakharov wrote: 'I am convinced that the "breath of freedom" which the Czechs and the Slovaks enjoyed when Dubček was their leader was a prologue to the peaceful revolutions now taking place in eastern Europe and Czechoslovakia itself.'After the 1989 revolution in Czechoslovakia, Dubček was elected chair of the federal assembly from 1989 to 1992. Addressing the European Parliament in January 1990 as he received his Sakharov Prize, Dubček noted that 'even during the most difficult moments of their history, the nations which make up my country have never ceased to feel that they are part of humanity's great struggle for freedom' and, from the Prague Spring to the Velvet Revolution, 'the ideals of freedom, sovereignty and social justice remained alive.'Alexander Dubček died in a car accident in 1992.
Anatoly Marchenko †
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 1988
A former Soviet Union dissident who brought to light the horrific jail conditions of political prisoners, Anatoli Marchenko was nominated by Andrei Sakharov himself.'Anatoli Marchenko's heroic life and work represent an enormous contribution to the causes of democracy, humanism and justice', wrote Andrei Sakharov to the European Parliament when recommending him for the prize.Anatoli Marchenko (1938-1986) was one of the former Soviet Union's best-known dissidents. He died in Chistopol prison following a three-month hunger strike for the release of all Soviet prisoners of conscience. He was only 48 when he died, but had spent over 20 years of his life in prison and internal exile. The international outcry that followed his death was a major factor in finally pushing Mikhail Gorbachev, then Secretary-General of the Communist Party, to authorise the large-scale release of political prisoners in 1987.Marchenko became widely known through My Testimony, an autobiographical account of his time in Soviet labour camps and prison, penned in 1966. This work, copied by hand by the dissident underground and later published in the West, was the first to discuss the camps and prisons of the post-Stalin period, awakening the world to the reality that the Gulag had not ended with Stalin.Its publication landed Marchenko in prison again for anti-Soviet propaganda, but before he was re-incarcerated in 1968 he openly became a dissident, publically denouncing jail conditions for political prisoners. In an open letter to the media in July 1968, he warned that the Soviet Union would not allow the Prague Spring to continue, a prediction which came true in August as Warsaw Pact tanks rumbled into Czechoslovakia, and Marchenko was once again sentenced to prison and then to exile.However, the greater the repression, the stronger Marchenko's desire to act became. He became one of the founders of the influential Moscow Helsinki Group, together with Andrei Sakharov and future leader Lyudmila Alexeyeva. The group was founded in 1976 to monitor the Soviet Union's compliance with the human rights clauses of the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, the first act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, which sought to improve relations between the Communist bloc and the West.He was arrested and jailed for the last time in 1980 for publishing his final book To Live Like Everyone. He did not survive his 15-year sentence. His death in prison was never publically investigated.His widow, Larissa Bogoraz, herself an activist and Sakharov Prize nominee, received the prize on his behalf, which was awarded to him posthumously in 1988, the year the European Parliament created the Sakharov Prize.
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Nelson Mandela
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 1988
An icon in the fight against racism, Nelson Mandela led South Africa’s historic transition from apartheid to a racially inclusive democracy and promoted equal opportunities and peace for all.'What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made in the lives of others', Nelson Mandela once said.Nelson Mandela died on 5 December 2013 at his home in Johannesburg, at the age of 95. His passing was met with a worldwide outpouring of grief but also with celebration of a life dedicated to freedom, democracy and equality.Along with Soviet dissident Anatoli Marchenko, he was the first recipient of the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize in 1988. At the time he was still being kept under house arrest by South Africa's apartheid regime, which imprisoned him for 27 years for his fight against racism.Mandela was an active member of the African National Congress and a co-founder of South Africa's first black law firm. He became more militant as apartheid grew more oppressive. He was condemned to life in prison in 1964 and finally released in 1990, as the apartheid regime began to buckle under international and domestic pressure.Shortly after his release, Mandela spoke to the European Parliament of the need for a just and lasting solution to transform South Africa into a 'united, democratic and non-racial country'. Anything less would be 'an insult to the memory of the countless patriots in South Africa and the rest of our region, who have sacrificed their very lives, to bring us to the moment today when we can confidently say that the end of the apartheid system is in sight'. During the 1990s Mandela led South Africa's transition from apartheid to a racially inclusive democracy. As president, from 1994-1999, he championed 'truth and reconciliation' as the path to peace.On his death in 2013 tributes flowed, including from the European Parliament. 'South Africa today loses its father, the world loses a hero. I pay tribute to one of the greatest humans of our time. Nelson Mandela dies today, but his legacy will last forever,' European Parliament President Martin Schulz said.In the words of Kofi Annan, 'Nelson Mandela led a singular life of sacrifice, dignity and political genius that brought about the peaceful end of one of the great evils of modern times'.