Raif Badawi wins EU’s Sakharov Prize 2015
Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has been selected for European Union’s prestigious Sakharov Prize for human rights for year 2015.
European Parliament assembly in Strasbourg, France has honoured Mr. Bidawi with this award considering him as a symbol of the fight for freedom of speech.
Raif Badawi, author of the website Free Saudi Liberals received an international fame in 2012 after he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes in Saudi Arabia for insulting Muslim clerics.
He was one of 3 nominees for this year’s edition prize along with the Assassinated Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and Venezuelan opposition movement Mesa de la Unidad Democratica.
About Sakharov Prize
- The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is annual award given by the European Parliament.
- Bestowed on individuals or organisations who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought.
- Established in December 1988 and named after Soviet scientist (physicist) and dissident Andrei Sakharov.
- The first prize was jointly awarded to South African Nelson Mandela and Russian human rights campaigner Anatoly Marchenko.
- It is awarded annually on or around December 10, the day on which the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, also celebrated as Human Rights Day.
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Month: Current Affairs - October, 2015