Sakharov Prize


The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, commonly known as the Sakharov Prize, honours individuals and groups of people who have dedicated their lives to the defense of human rights and freedom of thought. Named after Russian scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, the prize was established in December 1988 by the European Parliament. A shortlist of nominees is drawn up annually by the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs and Committee on Development. The MEPs who make up those committees then select a shortlist in September. Thereafter, the final choice is given to The European Parliament’s Conference of Presidents and the laureate's name is announced late in October. The prize is awarded in a ceremony at the Parliament’s Strasbourg hemicycle in December. The prize includes 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 receive it until 2013 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. Five Sakharov laureates were subsequently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize: Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, Malala Yousafzai, Denis Mukwege, and Nadia Murad.
Razan Zaitouneh was kidnapped in 2013 and is still missing. Nasrin Sotoudeh was released from prison in September 2013, but is still barred from leaving Iran, along with fellow 2012 laureate Jafar Panahi. The 2017 prize was awarded to the Democratic Opposition in Venezuela, under boycott of the European United Left–Nordic Green Left.

Laureates

YearRecipientNationalityNotesReference
1988Anti-apartheid activist and later President of South Africa
1988 Soviet dissident, author and human rights activist
1989Slovak politician, attempted to reform the communist regime during the Prague Spring
1990Aung San Suu KyiOpposition politician and a former General Secretary of the National League for Democracy
1991Kosovo Albanian Politician and long-term political prisoner
1992Mothers of the Plaza de MayoAssociation of Argentine mothers whose children disappeared during the Dirty War
1993OslobođenjePopular newspaper that defended Bosnia and Herzegovina as a multi-ethnic state
1994Ex-doctor, feminist author
1995Politician of Kurdish descent from Southeastern Turkey, who was imprisoned for 15 years for being member of PKK.
1996An activist in the Chinese democracy movement
1997Journalist and writer, an activist of women's rights, human rights and democracy in Algeria
1998KosovoKosovo Albanian politician, the first President of Kosovo
1999Former militant who was the first President of East Timor
2000Organisation uniting individuals of various political positions against terrorism
2001Peace activist
2001PalestineWriter, professor
2001Archbishop and peace activist
2002Political activist and dissident
2003Nobel Peace Prize recipient and seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations
2003United NationsN/A Nobel Peace Prize recipient and seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations
2004Belarusian Association of JournalistsNon-governmental organisation "aiming to ensure freedom of speech and rights of receiving and distributing information and promoting professional standards of journalism"
2005Ladies in WhiteOpposition movement, relatives of jailed dissidents
2005Reporters Without BordersN/A France-based non-governmental organisation advocating freedom of the press
2005Human rights lawyer
2006Politician chosen by United Democratic Forces of Belarus as the joint candidate of the opposition in the presidential elections of 2006
2007Human rights lawyer
2008Activist and dissident
2009MemorialInternational civil rights and historical society
2010Doctor, journalist and political dissident
2011Asmaa MahfouzFive representatives of the Arab people, in recognition and support of their drive for freedom and human rights.
2011Ahmed al-SenussiFive representatives of the Arab people, in recognition and support of their drive for freedom and human rights.
2011Razan ZaitounehFive representatives of the Arab people, in recognition and support of their drive for freedom and human rights.
2011Ali FarzatFive representatives of the Arab people, in recognition and support of their drive for freedom and human rights.
2011Mohamed Bouazizi Five representatives of the Arab people, in recognition and support of their drive for freedom and human rights.
2012Jafar PanahiIranian activists, Sotoudeh is a lawyer and Panahi is a film director.
2012Nasrin SotoudehIranian activists, Sotoudeh is a lawyer and Panahi is a film director.
2013Malala YousafzaiCampaigner for women's rights and education
2014Denis MukwegeGynecologist treating victims of gang rape
2015Raif BadawiSaudi Arabian writer and activist and the creator of the website Free Saudi Liberals
2016Nadia Murad BaseeYazidi human rights activists and former abductees of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
2016Lamiya Aji BasharYazidi human rights activists and former abductees of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
2017Democratic Opposition in VenezuelaMembers of the country's National Assembly and all political prisoners as listed by Foro Penal Venezolano represented by Leopoldo López, Julio Borges, Antonio Ledezma,, Yon Goicoechea, Lorent Saleh, and Andrea González. The award was seen as rewarding the "courage of student activists and protesters in face of repression by Nicolas Maduro's government".
2018Oleg SentsovFilm director, symbol of the struggle for the release of political prisoners held in Russia and around the world
2019Ilham TohtiUyghur economist, scholar and human rights activist