European Parliament: the three finalists for the 2016 Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought

(Brussels) Every year, the European Parliament gives the Sakharov Prize to honour the people and associations that have stood out in the defence of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The three finalists for the 2016’s Prize have now been selected. They are: Can Dündar, a journalist involved in the defence of freedom of thought and expression in Turkey; Mustafa Dzemilev, a Tatar leader involved in the defence of Crimean citizens’ rights; the Yazidi lawyers who survived in Iraq, Nadia Murad Basee and Lamiya Aji. The winner will be chosen by the president of the European Parliament and by political group leaders on 27^th October. The awards ceremony will take place in Strasbourg, during the plenary session, on 14^th December. Can Dündar, former editor in chief of the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, was arrested in November 2015, because his newspaper had published some photos of the Turkish secret services illegally giving weapons to Syrian rebels. He was then sentenced to 5 years and 10 months in prison. Mustafa Abdülcemil Qırımoğlu, former president of Crimea’s Mejlis (the Tatar Parliament), is a former Soviet dissident and currently a member of the Ukrainian Parliament. He is an outstanding player in the defence of human rights and minorities in his country. Nadia Murad Basee and Lamiya Aji Bashar are two lawyers involved in the defence of the Yazidi community in Iraq and the women sexually abused by Isis soldiers.