Laureates of the award. Andrei Sakharov’s “For Freedom of Thought” were Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained in Tehran in 2022, and the Iranian protest movement “Woman, Life, Freedom”. This was announced by the Speaker of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, transmits Reuters.
“On September 16, we marked one year since the assassination of Gina Mahsa Amini in Iran. The European Parliament is proud to support the brave and daring people who continue to fight for equality, dignity and freedom in Iran,” she said.
The award ceremony will take place on December 13 at the session of the European Parliament.
Protests in Iran began on September 18 last year after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. On September 13, she was arrested by the morality police for “improper wearing of the hijab” and taken to the police station. According to authorities, the girl suffered a heart attack and stroke while at the station. Amini was taken to the hospital, where she died on September 16. At the same time, according to eyewitnesses, she was beaten by law enforcement officials.
After this, Iran was gripped by the largest street protests since the 2019 protests. They took place in more than 50 Iranian cities, although the core of the protests was initially in the northwestern regions of the country, populated mainly by Kurds.
In early December, Iran’s top security authority said 200 people had died as a result of unrest in the country. In late December, the Iranian Human Rights Organization reported about 469 victims.
The European Parliament established the prize in 1998 in honor of the Soviet physicist and human rights activist Andrei Sakharov. The award amount is 50,000 euros.
