Sakharov Prize

For other uses, see Sakharov Prize (disambiguation).

Sakharov Prize for Freedom and Thought
The 2023 Sakharov Prize diploma awarded to Mahsa Jina Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran.
Awarded for	Recognizing individuals, groups and organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to protecting freedom of thought.
Presented by	European Parliament
Reward(s)	A diploma and a monetary award of €50,000
First award	December 1988;36 years ago (1988-12)
Website	Official website
Currently held by María Corina Machado Edmundo González

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, commonly known as the Sakharov Prize, is an honorary award for individuals or groups who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought. ^[1] 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. ^[2] Thereafter, the final choice is given to The European Parliament's Conference of Presidents (President and political group's leaders) and the laureate's name is announced late in October. The prize is awarded in a ceremony at the Parliament's Strasbourg hemicycle (round chamber) in December. ^{[3] [2]} The prize includes a monetary award of €50,000. ^[3]

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. ^[4] The prize has also been awarded to organisations, the first being the Argentine Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in 1992. Six Sakharov laureates were subsequently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize: Aung San Suu Kyi (1991), Nelson Mandela (1993), Malala Yousafzai (2014), Denis Mukwege (2018), Nadia Murad (2018) and Memorial (2022). ^[5]

Razan Zaitouneh (2011) was kidnapped in 2013 and is still missing. ^[6] Nasrin Sotoudeh (2012) was released from prison in September 2013, ^[7] but is still barred from leaving Iran, along with fellow 2012 laureate Jafar Panahi. ^[8] The 2017 prize was awarded to the Democratic Opposition in Venezuela, under boycott of the European United Left–Nordic Green Left. ^{[9] [10]}

As of 2024, the prize has been awarded to 51 recipients: 39 individuals (with 3 posthumously given) and 12 organizations.

Laureates and nominees

Year	Award	Nominees	Country/ Headquarters	Nominators
1988	Laureate	Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) Anatoly Marchenko (1938–1986)	South Africa  Soviet Union
	Finalists [11]
		Roald Zelichenok (1936–2024)	Soviet Union
	Longlists [11]
		Larisa Bogoraz (1929–2004)	Soviet Union
		International Human Rights Association (founded in ?)	Switzerland
		Natan Sharansky (born 1948)	Israel
		Mordechai Vanunu (born 1954)	Israel
1989	Laureate	Alexander Dubček (1921–1992)	Czechoslovakia	European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and Luigi Alberto Colajanni and other MEPs
	Finalists [11]
		Doina Cornea (1929–2018)	Romania	Greens–European Free Alliance and Christopher Prout and other MEPs
		Gyula Horn (1932–2013)	Hungary	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and European People's Party
	Longlists [11]
		Tadeusz Mazowiecki (1927–2013)	Poland	Anne McIntosh and other MEPs
		Chico Mendes (1944–1988)	Brazil	The Left in the European Parliament
1990	Laureate	Aung San Suu Kyi (born 1945) [a]	Myanmar	European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
	Finalists [11]
		László Tőkés (born 1952)	Hungary	European People's Party
		Fang Lizhi (1936–2012)	China	The Left in the European Parliament
	Longlists [11]
		Universidad Católica de El Salvador (founded 1982)	El Salvador	Rosy Bindi and other MEPs
		Ibrahim Rugova (1944–2006)	Yugoslavia	Greens–European Free Alliance
		Adem Demaçi (1936–2018) [b]	Yugoslavia	Jaak Vandemeulebroucke and other MEPs
		Chico Mendes (1944–1988) [b]	Brazil	Left Unity Group
		Aziz Nesin (1915–1995) [b]	Turkey
1991	Laureate	Adem Demaçi (1936–2016)	Yugoslavia	European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party, Greens–European Free Alliance, European People's Party, and Alexander Langer and other MEPs
	Finalists [11]
		László Tőkés (born 1952)	Hungary	European People's Party
		Terry Waite (born 1939)	United Kingdom	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
	Longlists [11]
		Mikhail Gorbachev (1931–2022) Boris Yeltsin (1931–2006)	Soviet Union	The Left in the European Parliament
		Nancy Gracey (?-2025)	United Kingdom	CG Group
		Eduard Shevardnadze (1928–2014)	Georgia	European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
		Wei Jingsheng (born 1950)	China	European Democratic Party
1992	Laureate	Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (founded in 1977)	Argentina
	Finalists [11]
		Alija Izetbegović (1925–2003)	Bosnia-Herzegovina
		Maria Elena Cruz Varela (born 1953)	Cuba
	Longlists [11]
		Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (founded in 1987)	Cuba
		Giovanni Falcone (1939–1992) Paolo Borsellino (1940–1992)	Italy
		Rigoberta Menchú (born 1959)	Guatemala
1993	Laureate	Oslobođenje (founded in 1943)	Bosnia-Herzegovina
	Finalists [11]
		Xanana Gusmão (born 1946)	East Timor
		Gendün Rinchen (1926–1997)	China
	Longlists [11]
		Cedric Mayson (1927–2015)	South Africa
		Volmer do Nascimento (?–1991)	Brazil
		Salman Rushdie (born 1947)	United Kingdom
1994	Laureate	Taslima Nasrin (born 1962)	Bangladesh
	Finalists [11]
		Sebastian Arcos Bergnes (1931–1997)	Cuba
		Leyla Zana (born 1961) [c]	Turkey
	Longlists [11]
		Xanana Gusmão (born 1946)	East Timor
		Samuel Ruiz (1924–2011)	Mexico
		Wei Jingsheng (born 1950)	China
Mehdi Zana (born 1940) [c]	Turkey
1995	Laureate	Leyla Zana (born 1961)	Turkey
	Finalists [11]
		Sergei Kovalev (1930–2021)	Russia
		Naguib Mahfouz (1911–2006)	Egypt
	Longlists [11]
		Comunità San Patrignano (founded in 1978)	Italy
		Community of Sant'Egidio (founded in 1968)	Italy
		Palden Gyatso (1933–2018)	China
		Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941–1995)	Nigeria
1996	Laureate	Wei Jingsheng (born 1950)	China
	Finalists [11]
		Samuel Ruiz (1924–2011)	Mexico
		Leonel Morejón Almagro (born ?)	Cuba
	Longlists [11]
		Silvia Baraldini (born 1947)	Italy
		Aleksandr Nikitin (born 1952)	Russia
1997	Laureate	Salima Ghezali (born 1958)	Algeria
	Finalists [11]
		Franjo Komarica (born 1946)	Bosnia-Herzegovina
		Eleni Foka (born 1950)	Cyprus
	Longlists [11]
		Elizardo Sánchez (born 1944)	Cuba
1998	Laureate	Ibrahim Rugova (1944–2006)	Yugoslavia
	Finalists [11]
		Akın Birdal (born 1948)	Turkey
		Ukshin Hoti (1942–1999)	Kosovo
	Longlists [11]
		ACCEPT (founded in 1996)	Romania
		14th Dalai Lama (born 1935)	China
		José Rainha Júnior (born 1960)	Brazil
		Marta Beatriz Roque (born 1945)	Cuba
		Mordechai Vanunu (born 1954)	Israel
1999	Laureate	Xanana Gusmão (born 1946)	East Timor
	Finalists [11]
		Angelina Atyam (born 1946)	Uganda
		Radio B 2-92 (founded in 1989)	Serbia
	Longlists [11]
		Akın Birdal (born 1948)	Turkey
		Khemaïs Ksila (born 1956)	Tunisia
		Martin Lee (born 1938)	Hong Kong
2000	Laureate	¡Basta Ya! (founded in 1994)	Spain	Gerardo Galeote Quecedo and other MEPs
	Finalists [11]
		Angelina Atyam (born 1946)	Uganda
		Andrei Babitsky (1964–2022)	Russia
		Ngawang Sangdrol (born 1977)	China
	Longlists [11]
		Mumia Abu-Jamal (born 1954)	United States
		Immaculée Birhaheka (born 1960)	DR Congo
		Radhia Nasraoui (born 1953)	Tunisia
		Aleksandr Nikitin (born 1952)	Russia
2001	Laureate	Nurit Peled-Elhanan (born 1949) Izzat Ghazzawi (1951–2003)	Israel  Palestine	Francis Wurtz and other MEPs
		Zacarias Kamwenho (born 1934)	Angola	José Ribeiro e Castro and other MEPs
	Finalists [11]
		Sihem Bensedrine (born 1950)	Tunisia	Harlem Désir and other MEPs
	Longlists [11]
		Angelina Atyam (born 1946)	Uganda	Emma Nicholson and other MEPs
		Francisco de Roux (born 1943)	Colombia	Antonio Di Pietro and other MEPs
		Patrick Leahy (born 1940)	United States	Mario Segni and other MEPs
		Li Hongzhi (born 1951)	China	Nelly Maes and other MEPs
		Ngawang Sangdrol (born 1977)	China	Thomas Mann and other MEPs
		Morgan Tsvangirai (1952–2018)	Zimbabwe	Johan Van Hecke and other MEPs
2002	Laureate	Oswaldo Payá (1952–2012)	Cuba	Graham Watson and 3 other MEPs
	Finalists [11]
		Sihem Bensedrine (born 1950) Saad Eddin Ibrahim (1938–2023)	Tunisia  Egypt	Emma Bonino and 5 other MEPs
		Morgan Tsvangirai (1952–2018)	Zimbabwe	Geoffrey Van Orden and 3 other MEPs
	Longlists [11]
		Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953–2001)	Afghanistan	Union for Europe of the Nations
		Grigory Pasko (born 1962)	Ukraine	Matti Wuori and 3 other MEPs
		Kailash Satyarthi (born 1954)	India	Luigi Vinci and other MEPs
2003	Laureate	Kofi Annan (1938–2018) United Nations (founded in 1945)	Ghana  United Nations	European People's Party and Party of European Socialists
	Finalists [11]
		Akbar Ganji (born 1960)	Iran	Greens–European Free Alliance
		Sérgio Vieira de Mello (1948–2003)	Brazil	European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party, The Left in the European Parliament, Union for Europe of the Nations and José Ribeiro e Castro and other MEPs
		Hans Blix (born 1928) Mohamed ElBaradei (born 1942)	Sweden  Egypt	The Left in the European Parliament
	Longlists [11]
		Saim Balmukhanov (1922–?)	Kazakhstan	Struan Stevenson and other MEPs
		Yury Bandazhevsky (born 1957)	Belarus	Marie Anne Isler Béguin and other MEPs
		Central Asian opposition leaders and campaigners of democracy: Felix Kulov (born 1948) Muhammed Bekzhon (born ?) Batyr Berdyev (born 1960) Galymzhan Zhakiyanov (born 1963)	Kyrgyzstan  Uzbekistan  Turkmenistan  Kazakhstan	Matti Wuori and other MEPs
2004	Laureate	Belarusian Association of Journalists (founded in 1995)	Belarus	Michael Gahler and other MEPs
	Finalists [11]
		Natalya Estemirova (1958–2009)	Russia	Greens–European Free Alliance
		Sergei Kovalev (1930–2021)	Russia	Vytautas Landsbergis and other MEPs
		Íngrid Betancourt (born 1961)	Colombia	Party of European Socialists
	Longlists [11]
		Reporters Without Borders (born 1985)	France	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
		Enzo Baldoni (1948–2004) Rachel Corrie (1979–2003) Leonid Roshal (born 1933)	Italy  United States  Russia	The Left in the European Parliament
		Alexander Esenin-Volpin (1924–2016)	Russia	Independence/Democracy
		Angelica Edna Calo Livne (born 1955)	Italy	Mario Mauro and other MEPs
		Václav Havel (1936–2011)	Czechoslovakia	Jana Bobošíková and other MEPs
		Ibrahim Hussein Zaki (born 1947)	Maldives	Nirj Deva and other MEPs
		Zubr (founded in 2001)	Belarus	Rolandas Pavilionis and other MEPs
2005	Laureate	Ladies in White (born 2003)	Cuba	Gerardo Galeote Quecedo and other MEPs
		Reporters Without Borders (founded in 1989)	France	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
		Hauwa Ibrahim (founded in 1989)	Nigeria	Party of European Socialists
	Longlists [15]
		Yang Zili (born 1971) Mojtaba Saminejad (born 1980) Zouhair Yahyaoui (1967–2005)	China  Iran  Tunisia	Greens–European Free Alliance
		Mukhtar Mai (born 1972)	Pakistan	The Left in the European Parliament
		Gunārs Astra (1931–1988)	Latvia	Union for Europe of the Nations
		Alexander Esenin-Volpin (1924–2016) Sergei Kovalev (1930–2021)	Russia	Independence/Democracy
		Mudawi Ibrahim Adam (born 1956)	Sudan	Simon Coveney and other MEPs
		Daniel Barenboim (born 1942) West–Eastern Divan Orchestra (founded in 199)	Germany  Spain	Erna Hennicot-Schoepges and other MEPs
		Aminatou Haidar (born 1966)	Western Sahara	Karin Scheele and other MEPs
2006	Laureate	Alaksandar Milinkievič (born 1947)	Belarus	Union for Europe of the Nations and European People's Party
	Finalists [16]
		The Colombians fighting for kidnapped hostages	Colombia	Greens–European Free Alliance
		Ghassan Tueni (1926–2012) [d]	Lebanon	The Left in the European Parliament and Party of European Socialists
	Longlists [16]
		Íngrid Betancourt (born 1961)	Colombia	Marie-Arlette Carlotti and other MEPs
		Fulda-Moscho-Project (founded in 2002) Muthgard Hinkelmann-Toewe (born 1940)	Germany  Kenya	Alexander Nuno Alvaro and other MEPs
		Vladimir Kozlov (born 1960)	Kazakhstan	Toomas Hendrik Ilves and other MEPs
		Erwin Kräutler (born 1939)	Austria	Herbert Bösch (born 1954) and other MEPs
		Somaly Mam (born 1970)	Cambodia	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
		Mesfin Woldemariam (1930–2020)	Ethiopia	Ana Maria Gomes and other MEPs
		Women in Black (founded in 1991)	Serbia	Jelko Kacin and other MEPs
2007	Laureate	Salih Mahmoud Osman (born 1957)	Sudan	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and Josep Borrell and 181 other MEPs
	Finalists
		Anna Politkovskaya (1958–2006)	Russia	European People's Party
		Hu Jia (born 1973) Zeng Jinyan (born 1983)	China	Greens–European Free Alliance
	Longlists [17]
		Patriarch Bartholomew I (born 1940) [e]	Turkey	Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty
		Malalai Joya (born 1978)	Afghanistan	The Left in the European Parliament
2008	Laureate	Hu Jia (born 1973)	China	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, and Greens–European Free Alliance
	Finalists
		Alyaksandr Kazulin (born 1955)	Belarus	Jacek Protasiewicz and 45 other MEPs
		Apollinaire Malu Malu (1961–2016)	DR Congo	Luisa Morgantini and 47 other MEPs
	Longlists
		Íngrid Betancourt (born 1961)	Colombia	Party of European Socialists
		14th Dalai Lama (born 1935)	China	Union for Europe of the Nations and Piia-Noora Kauppi and 40 other MEPs
		Morgan Tsvangirai (1958–2018)	Zimbabwe	Luís Queiró and 96 other MEPs
		European Roma Rights Centre (founded in 1996)	Hungary	The Left in the European Parliament
		Mikhail Trepashkin (born 1957)	Belarus	Independence/Democracy
2009	Laureate	Memorial (founded in 1989) and human rights defenders in Russia: Lyudmila Alexeyeva (1927–2018) Oleg Orlov (born 1953) Sergei Kovalev (1930–2021)	Russia	Greens–European Free Alliance and Jacek Saryusz-Wolski and 59 other MEPs
	Finalists [18]
		Izzeldin Abuelaish (born 1955)	Palestine	Véronique De Keyser and 54 other MEPs
		Dawit Isaak (born 1964)	Eritrea  Sweden	The Left in the European Parliament and Olle Schmidt and 31 other MEPs
	Longlists [19]
		Fundación Vicente Ferrer (founded in 1996)	Spain	Juan Andrés Perelló and 39 other MEPs
		Mariam Lamizana (born 1951)	Burkina Faso	Europe of Freedom and Democracy
		Denis Mukwege (born 1955)	DR Congo	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
		Thadeus Nguyễn Văn Lý (born 1946)	Vietnam	Michael Gahler and 44 other MEPs
		Shadi Sadr (born 1974) Neda Agha-Soltan (1983–2009) Iranian citizens and activists	Iran	Marietje Schaake and 39 other MEPs
		Roberto Saviano (born 1979)	Italy	Sonia Alfano and 39 other MEPs
2010	Laureate	Guillermo Fariñas (born 1962) [f]	Cuba	European Conservatives and Reformists Group, European People's Party, and Edvard Kožušník and 91 other MEPs
	Finalists [21]
		Breaking the Silence (founded in 2004)	Israel	The Left in the European Parliament and Greens–European Free Alliance
		Birtukan Mideksa (born 1974)	Ethiopia	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
	Longlists [22]
		"Access" (founded in ?)		Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
		Haitham al-Maleh (born 1931)	Syria	Heidi Hautala and 44 other MEPs
		Aminatou Haidar (born 1966)	Western Sahara	Norbert Neuser and 42 other MEPs
		Dawit Isaak (born 1964)	Eritrea  Sweden	Olle Schmidt and 40 other MEPs
		Thadeus Nguyễn Văn Lý (born 1946)	Vietnam	European Conservatives and Reformists Group
		Open Doors (founded in 1955)	Netherlands
2011	Laureate	Five Arab spring activists: Asmaa Mahfouz (born 1985) Ahmed al-Senussi (born 1933) Razan Zaitouneh (born 1977) Ali Farzat (born 1951) Mohamed Bouazizi (1984–2011)	Egypt  Libya  Syria  Tunisia	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Greens–European Free Alliance and European People's Party
	Finalists
		Dzmitry Bandarenka (born 1963)	Belarus	European Conservatives and Reformists Group
		San José de Apartadó Peace Community (founded in 1997)	Colombia	The Left in the European Parliament
	Longlists [23]	Izzeldin Abuelaish (born 1955)	Palestine	European Conservatives and Reformists Group
		Boris Pahor (1933–2022)	Slovenia	Milan Zver and 51 other MEPs
2012	Laureate	Nasrin Sotoudeh (born 1963) Jafar Panahi (born 1960)	Iran	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, Greens–European Free Alliance and Elmar Brok and 38 other MEPs
	Finalists
		Ales Bialatski (born 1962)	Belarus	Jacek Saryusz-Wolski and 82 other MEPs
		Pussy Riot (founded in 2011)	Russia	Werner Schulz and 45 other MEPs
	Longlists [24]
		Rwanda political prisoners represented by: Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza (born 1968) Déogratias Mushayid (born 1961) Bernard Ntaganda(born 1967)	Rwanda	Willy Meyer Pleite and 41 other MEPs
		Joseph Francis (born ?)	Pakistan	European Conservatives and Reformists Group
2013	Laureate	Malala Yousafzai (born 1997)	Pakistan	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, European Conservatives and Reformists Group, and European People's Party
	Finalists [25]
		Belarusian political prisoners represented by: Ales Bialatski (born 1962) Eduard Lobau (1988–2023) Mikola Statkevich (born 1956)	Belarus	Marek Migalski and 41 other MEPs
		Edward Snowden (born 1983)	United States  Russia	The Left in the European Parliament and Greens–European Free Alliance
	Longlists [26]
		Reeyot Alemu (born 1980) Eskinder Nega (born 1969)	Ethiopia	Ana Maria Gomes and 40 other MEPs
		Mikhail Khodorkovsky (born 1963)	Russia	Werner Schulz and 40 other MEPs
		"Standing Man" protesters	Turkey	Marietje Schaake and 40 other MEPs
		CNN Freedom Project (founded in 2011)	United States	Boris Zala and 40 other MEPs
2014	Laureate	Denis Mukwege (born 1955)	DR Congo	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
	Finalists
		Leyla Yunus (born 1955)	Azerbaijan	Greens–European Free Alliance
		EuroMaiden represented by: Mustafa Nayyem (born 1981) Ruslana Lyzhychko (born 1973) Yelyzaveta Schepetylnykova (born ?) Tetiana Chornovol (born 1979)	Ukraine	Jacek Saryusz-Wolski and 52 other MEPs
	Longlists [27]
		Mahmoud Al 'Asali (?–2014) Louis Raphaël I Sako (born 1948)	Iraq	European Conservatives and Reformists Group Anna Záborská and 66 other MEPs
		Organisations for the protection of Christian minorities: Coordination of the Christians of East in Danger (CHREDO) (founded 2013) Open Doors (founded in 1955) Oeuvre d'Orient (founded in 1856) Aid to the Church in Need (born 1947)	Netherlands  Belgium  Germany	Philippe Juvin and 60 other MEPs
		Ayaan Hirsi Ali (born 1969)	Somalia  United States	Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy
2015	Laureate	Raif Badawi (born 1984)	Saudi Arabia	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, European Conservatives and Reformists Group, and Greens–European Free Alliance
	Finalists [28]
		Boris Nemtsov (1959–2015)	Russia	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
		Venezuelan opposition and political prisoners	Venezuela	European People's Party
	Longlist [29]
		Edna Adan Ismail (born 1937)	Somalia	Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy
		Nadiya Savchenko (born 1981)	Ukraine	European Conservatives and Reformists Group
		Edward Snowden (born 1983) Antoine Deltour (born 1985) Stéphanie Gibaud (born 1965)	United States  Russia  France	The Left in the European Parliament
2016	Laureate	Nadia Murad (born 1993) Lamiya Haji Bashar (born 1998)	Iraq	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
	Finalists [30]
		Can Dündar (born 1961)	Turkey	Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy, The Left in the European Parliament, and Greens–European Free Alliance
		Mustafa Dzhemilev (born 1943)	Ukraine	European Conservatives and Reformists Group and European People's Party Group
	Longlists [31]
		Ilham Tohti (born 1969)	China	Ilhan Kyuchyuk and 42 other MEPs
2017	Laureate	Democratic opposition in Venezuela represented by National Assembly and all political prisoners: Julio Borges (born 1969) Leopoldo López (born 1971) Antonio Ledezma (born 1955) Daniel Ceballos (born 1984) Yon Goicoechea (born 1984) Lorent Saleh (born 1988) Alfredo Ramos (born 1955) Andrea González (born ?)	Venezuela	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and European People's Party
	Finalists
		Aura Lolita Chavez Ixcaquic (born 1972)	Guatemala	Greens–European Free Alliance
		Dawit Isaak (born 1964)	Eritrea  Sweden	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Cecilia Wikström and 46 other MEPs
	Longlists [32]
		Asia Bibi (born 1971)	Pakistan	European Conservatives and Reformists Group
		Selahattin Demirtaş (born 1973) Figen Yüksekdağ (born 1971)	Turkey	The Left in the European Parliament
		Pierre Claver Mbonimpa (born 1950)	Burundi	Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy
2018	Laureate	Oleg Sentsov (born 1976)	Ukraine	European People's Party
	Finalists [33]
		Nasser Zefzafi (born 1979)	Morocco	The Left in the European Parliament
		NGOs protecting human rights and saving migrant lives across the Mediterranean Sea: Boat Refugee Foundation (founded in 2015) Jugend Rettet (founded in 2015) Lifeline Rescue Boat (founded in 2016) Médecins Sans Frontières (founded in 1971) Migrant Offshore Aid Station (founded in 2013) Proactiva Open Arms (founded in 2015) Proem-Aid (founded in 2015) Save the Children (founded in 1919) Sea-Eye (founded in 2015) Sea-Watch (founded in 2015) SOS Méditerranée (founded in 2015)	Germany  France  Malta  Netherlands  Spain  United Kingdom	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and Greens–European Free Alliance
	Longlists [34]
		Seyran Ateş (born 1963)	Germany	European Conservatives and Reformists Group
		"Caesar", Syrian military photographer (born ?)	Syria	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
		Dewayne "Lee" Johnson (born 1972)	United States	Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy
		AfriForum (founded in 2006)	South Africa	Europe of Nations and Freedom
		Mary Wagner (born 1974)	Canada	Marek Jurek and 41 other MEPs
2019	Laureate	Ilham Tohti (born 1969)	China	Renew Europe
	Finalists [35]
		Marielle Franco (1979–2018) Claudelice Silva dos Santos (born 1982) Raoni Metuktire (born 1932)	Brazil	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and The Left in the European Parliament
		The Restorers (founded in 2017)	Kenya	European Conservatives and Reformists Group
	Longlist [36]
		Jean Wyllys (born 1974) (nominated jointly with M. Franco)	Brazil	Greens–European Free Alliance
		Alexei Navalny (1976–2024)	Russia	European People's Party
2020 [g]	Laureate	Democratic opposition in Belarus represented by Coordination Council members: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (born 1982) Sergei Tikhanovsky (born 1878) Svetlana Alexievich (born 1948) Maria Kalesnikava (born 1982) Olga Kovalkova (born 1984) Veranika Tsapkala (born 1976) Ales Bialiatski (born 1962) Sergei Dylevsky (born 1989) Stsiapan Putsila (born 1998) Mikola Statkevich (born 1956)	Belarus	European Conservatives and Reformists Group, Renew Europe, European People's Party and Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
	Finalists [38]
		Berta Cáceres (1971–2016) Guapinol environmental activists: Porfirio Sorto Cedillo (born 1974) José Avelino Cedillo (born ?) Orbin Naún Hernández (born ?) Kevin Alejandro Romero (born ?) Arnold Javier Aleman (born ?) Ever Alexander Cedillo (born 1991) Daniel Marquez (born ?) Jeremías Martínez Díaz (born ?)	Honduras	Greens–European Free Alliance and The Left in the European Parliament
		Najib Mikhael Moussa (born 1955)	Iraq	Identity and Democracy
	Longlists [39]
		Polish LGBTI activists: Jakub Gawron (born ?) Paulina Pająk (born 1992) Paweł Preneta (born 1980) Kamil Maczuga (born 1993)	Poland	Malin Björk and 42 other MEPs
2021	Laureate	Alexei Navalny (1976–2024)	Russia	European People's Party and Renew Europe
	Finalists [40]
		Jeanine Áñez (born 1967)	Bolivia	European Conservatives and Reformists Group
		Afghan women and human rights activists: Shaharzad Akbar (born 1987) Mary Akrami (born 1975) Zarifa Ghafari (born 1994) Palwasha Hassan (born 1969) Freshta Karim (born 1992) Sahraa Karimi (born 1985) Metra Mehran (born ?) Horia Mosadiq (born 1973) Sima Samar (born 1957) Habiba Sarābi (born 1956) Anisa Shaheed (born 1986)	Afghanistan	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and Greens–European Free Alliance
	Longlist [41]
		Sultana Khaya (born 1980)	Western Sahara	The Left in the European Parliament
		Global Witness (founded in 1993)	United Kingdom	Marie Toussaint and other 42 MEPs
2022	Laureate	The Ukrainian people represented by: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (born 1978) elected leaders, and civil society	Ukraine	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, European Conservatives and Reformists Group European People's Party Group, and Renew Europe
	Finalists [42]
		Julian Assange (born 1971)	Australia	Sabrina Pignedoli and 40 other MEPs
		Colombia Truth Commission (founded in 2016)	Colombia	The Left in the European Parliament
	Longlists [43]
		Sônia Guajajara (born 1974)	Brazil	Greens–European Free Alliance
		Shireen Abu Akleh (1971–2022)	Palestine	Grace O'Sullivan and 42 other MEPs
2023	Laureate	Mahsa Jina Amini (1999–2022) and Woman, Life, Freedom movement (founded in 2022) Women in Iran	Iran	European People's Party, Renew Europe, and Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
	Finalists [44]
		Vilma Núñez (born 1938) Rolando José Álvarez (born 1966)	Nicaragua	Tilly Metz and 42 other MEPs
		Women fighting for free, safe and legal abortion: Justyna Wydrzyńska (born 1970) Morena Herrera (born 1960) Colleen McNicholas (born ?)	Poland  El Salvador  United States	The Left in the European Parliament
	Longlist [45]
		Vanessa Nakate (born 1996)	Uganda	Greens–European Free Alliance
		Elon Musk (born 1971)	United States	Identity and Democracy
		Afghan education activists: Marzia Amiri (born ?) Parasto Hakim (born ?) Matiullah Wesa (born 1992–3)	Afghanistan	Petras Auštrevičius and 58 other MEPs
		Pro-European people of Georgia Nino Lomjaria (born1984)	Georgia	European Conservatives and Reformists Group
2024	Laureate	María Corina Machado (born 1967) Edmundo González (born 1949)	Venezuela	European Conservatives and Reformists Group and European People's Party Group
	Finalists [46]
		Gubad Ibadoghlu (born 1971)	Azerbaijan	Greens–European Free Alliance
		Women Wage Peace (founded in 2014) Women of the Sun (founded in 2021)	Israel  Palestine	Renew Europe Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
	Longlist [47]
		Elon Musk (born 1971)	United States	Europe of Sovereign Nations Group and Patriots for Europe
		Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip: Hamza Al-Dahdouh (1996–2024) Wael Al-Dahdouh (born 1970) Plestia Alaqad (born 2001) Shireen Abu Akleh (1971–2022) Ain Media in honour of Yaser Murtaja (1987–2018) and Roshdi Sarraj (1992–2023)	Palestine	The Left in the European Parliament
2025	to be announced on September 2025

Table notes

1. At the time she received the award, Suu Kyi was an opposition politician and a former General Secretary of the National League for Democracy, known for her peaceful struggle against military rule in Myanmar. She personally accepted the award in 2013, after she was released from 15 years of house arrest. In 2020, the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament formally suspended Suu Kyi from the Sakharov Prize Community due to her role in the atrocities against the Rohingya people, but did not revoke the prize itself. ^{[12] [13] [14]}
2. The nominations of Adem Demaçi, Chico Mendes and Aziz Nesin in 1990 were eventually removed because it were received after the deadline.
3. On 12 October 1994, the Committee on Foreign Affairs had decided to only submit nominations of individuals to the Conference of Presidents. Hence, rather than submiting a joint nomination of Mr. and Mrs. Zana, only the nomination of Leyla Zana would be submitted.
4. Tueni was nominated in memory of five prominent Lebanese people who were assassinated in 2005: Gebran Tueni (1957–2005), Rafic Hariri (1944–2005), Bassel Fleihan (1963–2005), Samir Kassir (1960–2005) and George Hawi (1938–2005).
5. Bartholomew I's nomination was subsequently removed from the list after the Patriarch told the Parliament he would not accept it. ^[17]
6. On 15 December 2010, the prize was awarded to Guillermo Fariñas. However, the Cuban authorities did not allow the laureate to come to Strasbourg, despite the requests of Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament. The latter therefore placed the diploma on an empty chair, covered with a Cuban flag at the dissident's request. ^[20]
7. Due to infection control measures taken because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of events related to the Sakharov Community were postponed in 2020, including the Sakharov Fellowship, One World in Brussels and the European Youth Event. ^[37]

See also

• Freedom of speech portal

• Nobel Peace Prize
• Gandhi Peace Prize

References

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External links

• "Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought". European Parliament. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
• "20 years of the Sakharov Prize: rewarding courage, self-sacrifice". European Parliament. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 22 October 2010.