Protests in Iran
Sakharov Human Rights Prize goes posthumously to Mahsa Amini
A portrait of Mahsa Amini is held during a rally following the death of Mahsa Amini. photo
© Cliff Owen/FR170079 AP/AP
Iranian Jina Mahsa Amini posthumously receives the Sakharov Prize for Human Rights. Her death sparked the most violent protests in the Islamic Republic in decades
The European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize goes to the late Iranian protest icon Jina Mahsa Amini and the associated freedom movement. “The European Parliament stands proudly alongside the brave and bold people who… Iran continues to fight for equality, dignity and freedom,” says Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola.
The Sakharov Prize has been awarded by the European Parliament since 1988 to individuals or organizations committed to the defense of human rights and freedom of expression.
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Amini was arrested by the notorious moral police in Iran last fall for allegedly violating the Islamic dress code. The 22-year-old then fell into a coma and died. Her death sparked the most violent protests in the Islamic Republic in decades.
Last year the prize went to the Ukrainian people. Also nominated this year were the Nicaraguan human rights activists Vilma Núñez de Escorcia and Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos. Also on the shortlist were three women who advocate for safe and legal abortions: Justyna Wydrzyńska from Poland, Morena Herrera from El Salvador and Colleen McNicholas from the USA. The award is to be presented in Strasbourg in December.