The European Parliament has given Iranian oppositionists Nasrin Sotoudekh and Jafar Panakhi the Sakharov Award for Freedom of Thought, President of the assembly Martin Schultz said at a plenary session in Strasburg.
Russia’s Pussy Riot and human rights activist Ales Belyatsky from Belarus were the two other candidates for the award. The award will be given in Strasburg on December 12.
The award is given for contribution to human rights protection. Candidates for the award are introduced by fractions of the European Parliament or MPs with at least 40 votes. Nelson Mandela and USSR dissident Anatoly Marchenko (died at a Soviet prison in December 1986) were the first to receive the Sakharov Award. A group of activists of the Arab Spring was awarded in 2011. The award was worth €50,000.
