The Foreign Affairs Committee selected a shortlist of three nominees for this year's Sakharov prize for freedom of thought. The EP Conference of Presidents will select the winner in the coming weeks. The prize will then be awarded at Parliament's Strasbourg plenary session in December. Here is a brief description of the nominees.
Belarusian Association of Journalists. Organisation that works for freedom of speech in Belarus. It provides legal assistance to journalists and pushes the Belarus authorities to reduce pressure and constraints on the media. (Nominated by Michael Gahler (EPP-ED, Germany) and others).
Natalya Estemirova and Sergey Kovalev. These two individuals are being put forward as a joint nomination. Natalya Estemirova is the child of a Russian-Chechen marriage. Her activities symbolise the resistance of non-violent Chechens. She denounces human rights violations, stands up for victims of violence and has called for a political solution to the conflict in Chechnya. (Nominated by Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Monica Frassoni on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group).
Russian citizen Sergey Kovalev, born in 1930, fought for human rights in the Soviet era. He was imprisoned for seven years, accused of anti-Soviet activism and propaganda. He remains active to this day, working to promote and defend human rights. (Nominated by Vytautas Landsbergis (EPP-ED, Lithuania) and others).
Ingrid Betancourt. Member of Parliament in Colombia and human rights activist. Kidnapped in February 2002 by the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC). She is still in captivity. (Nominated by the Socialist Group (PES)).
The winners of the Sakharov Prize in Parliament's last legislative term (1999-2004) were as follows: 1999 - Xanana Gusmão (East Timor); 2000 - Basta Ya! (Basque country); 2001 - Izzat Ghazzawi and Nurit Peled-Elhanan (Palestinian terrritories and Israel) together with Dom Zacarias (Angola); 2002 - Oswaldo José Paya Sardinas (Cuba); 2003 - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and all the staff of the United Nations.