European Parliament President Roberta Metzola announced that this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought will be awarded to jailed journalists Andrzej Pokzobut of Belarus and Maziya Amaglobeli of Georgia.
“Both journalists are currently in prison on fabricated charges simply for doing their job and speaking out against injustice. Their courage has made them symbols of the struggle for freedom and democracy,” Metsola told the parliament in Strasbourg, France.
What do we know about the winners?
Andrzej Poczbut, 52, Polish-Belarusian journalist, correspondent for the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza,
Belarus sentenced him to eight years in prison in February 2023 for his critical reporting that covered mass protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko five years ago, and his refusal to leave the country even as the regime cracked down on dissent.
He is serving his sentence in the Novopolotsk penal colony.
Georgian journalist Maziya Amaglobeli, 50, was jailed for two years in August on charges of using “resistance, intimidation or violence” against an official.
His sentencing is seen as a response to his investigation into public spending and abuse of office in the Black Sea nation, which critics see as a move toward authoritarianism.
Edited by: Elisabeth Schumacher