The people of Ukraine, represented by their president, elected leaders and civil society, have been awarded the 2022 European Parliament Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
In a laudatory speech Wednesday afternoon, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said: “This award is for those Ukrainians fighting on the ground. For those who have been forced to flee. For those who have lost relatives and friends. For all those who stand up and fight for what they believe in. I know that the brave people of Ukraine will not give up and neither will we.”
Alongside with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the nomination highlights the efforts of a number of Ukrainians: The state emergency services of Ukraine; Yulia Pajevska, the founder of the evacuation medical unit Angels of Taira; Oleksandra Matviychuk, human rights lawyer and chairwoman of the organization Center for Civil Liberties; the Yellow Ribbon Civil Resistance Movement; and Ivan Fedorov, mayor of the city of Melitopol.
The price will officially be awarded in a ceremony on December 14 in Strasbourg.
The Sakharov Prize has been awarded annually by the European Parliament since 1988. It honors individuals and organizations defending human rights and freedoms, and was named after Andrei Sakharov, a Soviet physicist and political dissident. The prize money is €50,000.
