Five activists from the Arab world, Dzmitry Bandarenka and the San José de Apartadó Peace Community are the three shortlisted finalists for the 2011 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The winner will be announced on 27 October and will receive €50,000. The award ceremony will take place 14 December in Strasbourg.
Five nominees represent the Arab spring, the popular uprising that started in Tunisia in the beginning of 2011 and spread across North Africa and the Middle East. The group's nomination is a sign of respect for all those who have risked their lives fighting for democracy, fundamental rights and dignity.
The nominees are the deceased Mohamed Bouazizi from Tunisia, who set himself on fire, triggering a chain of uprisings. Asmaa Mahfouz represents the Egyptian struggle on Tahrir Square. Ahmed EL Senussi is from Libya, the latest country to free itself from decades of dictatorship. Razan Zaitouneh and Ali Ferzat, are from Syria - they stand for the ongoing fight of the Syrian people. They nominees were jointly put forward by the EPP, S&D, ALDE and Green groups.
Dzmitry Bandarenka is a Belarusian civil activist and member of the Belarusian Association of Journalists. He is one of the co-founders of the Charter '97 civil rights initiative and co-ordinator of the European Belarus civil campaign that wants Belarus to join the EU. He was nominated by the ECR group.
The San José de Apartadó Peace Community is a Colombian community of "campesinos" - peasant farmers. They have become an internationally recognized symbol of courage, resilience and dedication to the values of peace and justice. In a country plagued by decades of civil war and conflict, this community rejects affiliation to any of the armed groups and demands freedom and liberty for normal people. The community was nominated by the GUE/NGL group.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named in honour of the Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov, has been awarded by the European Parliament every year since 1988 to individuals or organisations that have made an important contribution to the fight for human rights or democracy.
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