“Brave people of Ukraine” among 3 finalists of European Parliament award

EUROPEAN PRAVDA —  THURSDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2022, 13:20

The European Parliament has announced the shortlist for the 2022 Sakharov Prize, which includes "the brave people of Ukraine".

Source: European Parliament press service, cited in European Pravda

Details: On 13 October, the members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on the Foreign Affairs and Development committees held a joint vote to choose the finalists for the 2022 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

They selected:

• The brave people of Ukraine, represented by President Zelenskyy, elected leaders, and civil society;
• Julian Assange, imprisoned WikiLeaks publisher;
• Colombia’s Truth Commission.

"The brave people of Ukraine", represented by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were nominated by the European People’s Party. 

"Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, launched in February 2022, is inflicting enormous costs on the Ukrainian people in terms of lives lost and towns and villages reduced to ruins. The Ukrainian people are fighting to protect their homes, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, but every day they are also fighting for freedom, democracy, the rule of law and European values on the battlefields," the nomination says.

S&D and Renew Europe political groups have nominated the people of Ukraine, highlighting the role of individuals, representatives of civil society and state and public institutions.

The nomination mentions, amongst others, the State Emergency Services of Ukraine; Yuliia Paievska, founder of the evacuation medical unit Angels of Taira; human rights activist Oleksandra Matviichuk, whose organisation "Center for Civil Liberties" received this year’s Nobel Peace Prize; the Yellow Ribbon Civil Resistance Movement; and Ivan Fedorov, mayor of the temporarily occupied city of Melitopol.

The president and political leaders of the European Parliament will select the winner on Wednesday, 19 October.

The prize itself will be presented at a ceremony in Strasbourg on 14 December.

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is the main European Union award in the field of human rights.

Last year, the Sakharov Prize was awarded to the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in 2020 to representatives of the Belarusian opposition, and in 2018 to Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov.

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