EU: The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakharov_Prize   Sakharov Prize The 2009 awarding ceremony inside the Parliament's Strasbourg hemicycle Presented by European Parliament Location Strasbourg Country France Reward €50,000[1] First awarded 1988 Last awarded 2011 Currently held by Asmaa Mahfouz, Ahmed al-Senussi,Razan Zaitouneh, Ali Farzat, Mohamed Bouazizi Official website Website   The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, was established in December 1988 by the European Parliament as a means to honour individuals or organisations who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought.[2] A shortlist of nominees is drawn up by the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Development Committee, with the winner announced in October.[1] As of 2010, the prize is accompanied by a monetary award of €50,000.[1] The first prize was awarded jointly to South African Nelson Mandela and Russian Anatoly Marchenko. The most recent award, in 2011, was given to five representatives of the Arab Spring—Asmaa Mahfouz,Ahmed al-Senussi, Razan Zaitouneh, Ali Farzat, and Mohamed Bouazizi—for their contributions to "historic changes in the Arab world".[3] The prize has also been awarded to different organisations throughout its history, the first being the Argentine Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (1992). The Sakharov Prize is usually awarded annually on or around 10 December, the day on which the United Nations General Assembly ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948,[4] also celebrated as Human Rights Day.[5] [edit] Recipients Nelson Mandela was the inaugural winner of the prize, together withAnatoly Marchenko. Hu Jia received the award in 2008. Year Recipient Nationality Notes Reference 1988 Nelson Mandela South Africa Anti-apartheid activist and later President of South Africa [6] 1988 Anatoly Marchenko (posthumously) Soviet Union Soviet dissident, author and humans rights activist [6] 1989 Alexander Dubček Czechoslovakia Slovak politician, attempted to reform the communist regime during the Prague Spring [6] 1990 Aung San Suu Kyi Burma Opposition politician and a former General Secretary of the National League for Democracy [7] 1991 Adem Demaçi Kosovo Politician and long-term political prisoner [6] 1992 Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo Argentina Association of Argentine mothers whose children disappeared during the Dirty War [7] 1993 Oslobođenje Bosnia and Herzegovina Popular newspaper, continued to publish after its office building was destroyed in Sarajevo [7] 1994 Taslima Nasrin Bangladesh Ex-doctor, feminist author [7] 1995 Leyla Zana Turkey A female politician of Kurdish descent from Eastern Turkey, who was imprisoned for 10 years for speaking her native language of Kurdish in the Turkish Parliament [6] 1996 Wei Jingsheng People's Republic of China An activist in the Chinese democracy movement [7] 1997 Salima Ghezali Algeria Journalist and writer, an activist of women's rights, human rights and democracy in Algeria [7] 1998 Ibrahim Rugova Kosovo Albanian politician, the first President of Kosovo [6] 1999 Xanana Gusmão East Timor Former militant who was the first President of East Timor [8] 2000 ¡Basta Ya! Spain Organisation uniting individuals of various political positions against terrorism [9] 2001 Nurit Peled-Elhanan Israel Peace activist [6] 2001 Izzat Ghazzawi Palestine Writer, arrested several times by Israeli authorities for "political activities" [6] 2001 Dom Zacarias Kamwenho Angola Archbishop and peace activist [6] 2002 Oswaldo Payá Cuba Political activist and dissident [10] 2003 Kofi Annan (& United Nations) — Nobel Peace Prize recipient and seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations [6] 2004 Belarusian Association of Journalists Belarus Non-governmental organisation "aiming to ensure freedom of speech and rights of receiving and distributing information and promoting professional standards of journalism" [11] 2005 Ladies in White Cuba Opposition movement, relatives of jailed dissidents [12] 2005 Reporters Without Borders — France-based non-governmental organisation advocating freedom of the press [12] 2005 Hauwa Ibrahim Nigeria Human rights lawyer [12] 2006 Alaksandar Milinkievič Belarus Politician chosen by United Democratic Forces of Belarus as the joint candidate of the opposition in the presidential elections of 2006 [13] 2007 Salih Mahmoud Osman Sudan Human rights lawyer [7] 2008 Hu Jia People's Republic of China Activist and dissident [14] 2009 Memorial Russia International civil rights and historical society [15] 2010 Guillermo Fariñas Cuba Doctor, journalist and political dissident [16] 2011 Asmaa Mahfouz, Ahmed al-Senussi, Razan Zaitouneh, Ali Farzat, Mohamed Bouazizi (posthumously) Egypt Libya Syria Syria Tunisia Five representatives of the Arab people, in recognition and support of their drive for freedom and human rights. [3]

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