today's Featured List/November 7, 2014
The Sakharov Prize, named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, was established in December 1988 by the European Parliament as a means to honor individuals and groups of people who have dedicated their lives to the defense of human rights and freedom of thought.
A shortlist of nominees is drawn up by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Development, with the winner announced in October. The prize is accompanied by a monetary award of €50,000. The first prize was awarded jointly to South African Nelson Mandela and Russian Anatoly Marchenko. The 1990 award was given to Aung San Suu Kyi, but she could not collect it until 2013 (pictured) as a result of her political imprisonment in Burma. The prize has also been awarded to organisations, the first being the Argentine Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in 1992. Some Sakharov laureates still face harsh political oppression. 2011 laureate Razan Zaitouneh is still living in hiding in Syria. Nasrin Sotoudeh was released from prison in September 2013, and, along with fellow 2012 laureate Jafar Panahi, is still banned from leaving Iran. (Full list...)
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