“This award is dedicated to the Ukrainians who are fighting on the ground. To those who have been forced to flee. To those who have lost loved ones and friends. To all those who resist and fight for their beliefs,” said the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, announcing the choice of the institution in the hemicycle in Strasbourg.
“I know that the brave people of Ukraine will not give in, and neither will we,” she added, stressing that Ukrainians were also risking their lives “to safeguard the values we all believe in: freedom, democracy , Right wing state”.
The rewarded Ukrainian people are represented “by their President Volodymyr Zelensky, their elected officials and civil society”, she said.
Faced with “acts of pure terror” by Russia in Ukraine, denounced again Wednesday morning by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the candidacy of the Ukrainian people has made “consensus” among the political groups in Parliament.
Two other finalists were in the running: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, detained in London, and Colombia’s Truth Commission, a body that investigates human rights violations during the armed conflict with FARC guerrillas.
Created in 1988, the Sakharov Prize “for freedom of thought” rewards each year people or organizations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is endowed with a sum of 50,000 euros.
