Charlie Kirk, Budapest Pride and Palestinian journalists among finalists for EU’s Sakharov Prize

Every year, lawmakers in the European Parliament choose an individual or cause that stands out for its fight for human rights, the defence of freedom of expression, the rights of minorities, or democracy.

During the past four years, winners have included María Corina Machado, leader of the democratic forces in Venezuela with President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia; the Iranian dissident Mahsa Amini; the people of Ukraine; and the late Russian dissident Alexei Navalny.

Before the final vote in October, MEPs present a list of nominees together with their political groups or by any group of at least 40 lawmakers.

Charlie Kirk, the right-wing US influencer assassinated earlier this month, has been nominated by the nationalist Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) group. Kirk gained followers by debating college students and defending his conservative and Christian ideology.

During the last plenary session of the European Parliament, a minute of silence commemorating Kirk, called for by conservative members of the body, was turned down because it was not requested in accordance with procedural norms.

The Budapest Pride is also nominated to celebrate the hundreds of thousands of protesters who took to the streets of Hungary to defend LGBTQ+ rights despite the ban imposed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Hungary has steadily restricted LGBTQ+ rights through constitutional changes, from defining marriage solely as between a man and a woman in 2019 to banning public events with queer symbols in legal amendments this year. They were nominated by the Greens and other MEPs from the European Parliament's LGBTQ+ intergroup.

Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli and the country’s pro-democracy protest movement have been nominated by a MEP from the European People's Party for defending democratic rights in their country. Amaglobeli was arrested after opposing the ruling party and calling for a nationwide strike, sparking protests in Tbilisi and Batumi. Political opponents have been under government repression ahead of the 4 October municipal elections. Georgia is a candidate to join the EU.

Journalists and humanitarian workers in conflict areas have been nominated for their work under challenging conditions. The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group nominated the Palestinian Press Association, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The Left group (GUE/NGL) nominated Palestinian journalists Hamza and Wael Al-Dahdouh, Plestia Alaqad, Shireen Abu Akleh, and Ain Media, in honour of Yasser Murtaja and Roshdi Sarraj.

Andrzej Poczobut, a journalist and leader of the Polish minority in Belarus who has been imprisoned by the President Aliaksandr Lukashenka regime for four years, was also selected. Sentenced to eight years for allegedly "inciting hatred," he became a symbol of the crackdown on opposition and freedom of speech. He was nominated by the European People’s Party and the European Conservatives and Reformists groups.

Other nominees include Serbian students who have been protesting against President Aleksandar Vučić’s government, put forward by the Renew group, and Boualem Sansal, a Franco-Algerian writer imprisoned in Algeria for allegedly threatening the state, nominated by the Patriots for Europe group. His case has raised alarm over freedom of expression in Algeria and is at the centre of a diplomatic dispute with France.

In October, the Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Development Committees will select a shortlist of three candidates. The Parliament’s president and group leaders will then choose the winner, who will be announced the same month. The award will be presented during the December plenary session in Strasbourg.