Debate: Award of the Sakharov Prize
Date: TUESDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2023
Speaker: Roberta Metsola
Country: Poland
Language: EN

Dear colleagues, welcome to the Sakharov plenary award ceremony in this Hemicycle, welcome to the laureates. We start the ceremony with a video. Dear colleagues, today we honour the 2023 Laureates of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. They are Jina Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement of Iran. It is with regret that I must inform you that Ms Mahsa Amini’s family were stopped from leaving Iran last Saturday and are under a travel ban imposed by the Iranian regime. Their treatment is another example of what the people of Iran face every day. Let me say that the courage and resilience of Iranian women in their fight for justice, liberty and human rights will not be stopped. Their voices cannot be silenced, and while they are not here today, their presence will be felt. We are joined by Mr Saleh Nikbakht, the Amini family lawyer, who is with us in Parliament representing them. Afsoon Najafi and Mersedeh Shahinkar – representing the Woman, Life Freedom movement – are with us too. They have also paid a very high price for their fight. Let us also welcome the Sakharov Prize finalists and their representatives here in the visitors’ gallery. From the United States and from Nicaragua we have Dr Colleen McNicholas, as well as Father Uriel Vallejos and Ms Sara Henríquez, representing Monsignor Rolando José Álvarez and Ms Vilma Nuñez de Escorcia. I would like also to acknowledge the presence of Venezuelan opposition activist Lorent Saleh in the visitors’ gallery. Lorent was detained by the Venezuelan authorities for his defence of human rights and was in prison when we awarded the Sakharov Prize to the Venezuelan Opposition in 2017. His presence here today is a testament to his resilience and courage. The European Parliament thanks you all for your unwavering dedication to protect human rights. We stand with you in solidarity for a world where freedom and equality are not just ideals, but realities for us all. Dear colleagues, upholding the dignity of every individual remains a global challenge. Universal acceptance of human rights is not a given, but for 35 years now, the European Parliament has played a part in defending human rights with the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The prize recognises individuals, groups and organisations that have made outstanding contributions in this field. Many have done so at great risk. Some have paid with their lives, as Jina Mahsa Amini did. Jina was 22 years old. She was a daughter, a sister, a student, a young woman with dreams and ambition for a better life. On 13 September 2022, she was arrested and severely beaten for wearing her hijab incorrectly. She died of her injuries three days later, leaving behind horrible injustice imposed by oppressive forces curtailing basic freedoms. But her voice was carried around the world by women, men, students, academics – people from all walks of life – on the streets of Iran. This was the beginning of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. Values that we must never take for granted. Since her killing, hundreds more protestors have reportedly been killed and thousands have been detained. Afsoon, we honour your sister Hadis’s memory, and we support you in your plea for justice: justice for her, for you and for the thousands in Iran fighting daily for dignity. Mersedeh, we praise your determination and perseverance in your struggle, in spite of sustaining traumatic injuries and abuse. Your daughter – watching you now from the gallery – can be proud of you and look towards her future with hope, thanks to you. Please know, as you can see, with this room, with our colleagues, that your willingness to stand up for your friends, for your family members who were killed or arrested, inspires us all. Your bravery in calling out abuse and injustice is held up as an example across the globe. Please know that you are not alone, that this House is your home, and that your courage will win, because your cause is right. I give the floor now to the representative of Ms Mahsa Amini’s family, Mr Saleh Nikbakht.