European Parliament presents Sakarov Prize for Captured Russian Opposition Leader Navalny / Article

President David Sasoli said: “The European Parliament has selected Alexei Navalny as the winner of this year’s Sakharov Prize. For this he drank poison and was imprisoned. “

“By presenting the gift to Alexei Navalny, we acknowledge his immense personal courage and reiterate his support for the immediate release of the European Parliament,” Sassoli said.

MEPs have presented Russian opposition politician and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny with the Sakarov Prize for Freedom of Thought in the European Parliament for 2021. Press Release https://t.co/ogwHISfBr1 pic.twitter.com/3J4ued51kt

– European Parliament (uEuroparl_EN) October 20, 2021

Kremlin’s enemy number. 1

The European Parliament presents the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought each year. It was established in 1988 to honor individuals and organizations that defend human rights and fundamental freedoms. The prize is named in memory of Soviet physicist and political opponent Andrei Sakaro, and the cash prize is 50,000 euros.

In 1975, Sakaro was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and Yuri Andropov, then leader of the USSR KGB, acknowledged that he was the “enemy number 1” of the Sakarov regime. Today, Navalny can be considered the main enemy of the Kremlin.

Alexei Navalny is a Russian opposition politician, anti-corruption activist and Russia’s most important political opponent, Vladimir Putin. He gained international prominence by staging protests against President Putin and his government, running for president of Russia and advocating for anti-corruption reforms.

In August 2020, an attempt was made to poison Navalny, who was cured for several months in Berlin. He was arrested on his return to Moscow in January 2021. He is currently serving a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence, which is more than two years. Navalny is imprisoned in a strict rule colony.

Navalny has shown great courage

In June 2021, a Russian court banned Alexei Navalny’s regional offices and his anti-corruption fund, classifying them as extremist groups undesirable to Russian authorities.

EP Vice President Heidi Houthala said: “This year the prize for freedom of thought has been awarded to someone who is fighting for change.

For many years, he fought for human rights and fundamental freedoms in his country. It cost him his freedom and almost his life. On behalf of the European Parliament, I call for his immediate and unconditional release. “

This is the second major award received by critics of the Russian regime in a short period of time. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year Dmitry Muradov, editor-in-chief of the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, was actually killed 15 years before the award “Novaya Gazeta” was killed by journalists, especially in the struggle for freedom of speech, especially Anna Politkovskaya.

The Sakharov Prize Giving Ceremony will take place on December 15 in Strasbourg, but prisoner Navalny is unlikely to attend; Maybe the gift will go to Navalny’s wife Julia.

EP also supports Afghan women

European Parliament Sakharov was awarded the prize for anti-democracy in Belarus last yearRepresented by the Steering Board, an initiative of brave women and political and civil society activists.

This year, with the Navalny for the Sakharov Prize Afghan women also applied, Who fights for equality and human rights in his country, and former Bolivian interim president Jean-Anges have been jailed and charged with plotting against Bolivian President Evo Morales.

“Today, Parliament pays tribute to the group of Afghan women who fought hard for equality and human rights in their country and were shortlisted for the Sagarov Prize.”

Environment:

Kremlin Opposition Navalny Were detained January at the Moscow airport a moment after he returned from Germany Poisoned by “Novisok”. In 2014, a Russian court ruled that the suspended prison sentence imposed on Navalny should be kept in actual custody. His planned Should be in jail until 2023. In the middle of the year. Navalny and his supporters believe the allegations are politically motivated.

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