Strasbourg, 13/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 12 December, in Strasbourg, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2012 was awarded by the European Parliament to two empty chairs as the two winners, the lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and film director Jafar Panahi, who are both human rights activists, are currently serving prison sentences. They therefore authorised five people to represent them in receiving the prize which, as the president of the European Parliament put it, should be seen as a message of encouragement to the Republic of Iran.
Iranian activists. Sotoudeh is imprisoned in Teheran, where she has just ended a hunger strike. She is accused of propaganda and conspiracy against State security. The Sakharov Prize has been awarded to her for her work defending opposition activists, minors under the death penalty, women and those held for their opinions. Panahi's six-year prison sentence is not effective but he is banned from leaving the country. His films relate to the difficulties experienced by children, the poor and women in Iran, and he is hence accused of propaganda against the Islamic republic.
Encouragement. By awarding the Sakharov Prize 2012 to these winners, the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, said this was a message from his institution to the Iranian regime, mainly a message of encouragement, adding (our translation): “You are under observation. The victims to whom we pay tribute today are our friends, our allies. I appeal to the regime, and the European Parliament pays tribute to two people, a man and a woman, who are working for another Iran, a better Iran, that respects human rights, and for governance other than the shameful regime that currently governs the country”.
Justice. In a speech delivered by Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Prize 2003, Sotoudeh said: “I have only one dream; the dream of the realisation of justice, and I believe that this dream will be realised in my country, by juridical independence”. Panahi, for his part, speaking through the film director, Constantinos Costa, said: “Now the question is: why do the governments, the almighty and powerful, become more intolerant every day? History is the narrative of the few, making the lives of the many miserable, while using the most unacceptable excuses: difference of sex, language, religion or political ideas”. The three other representatives of the selected prize-winners were Karim Lahidji, Founder of the Iranian Association of Jurists and of The League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran, Solmaz Panahi, daughter of Jafar Panahi, and Serge Toubiana, Director General of the Cinémathèque Française.
When quizzed about Europe's contradictory relations with Iran, which maintain trade and diplomatic relations, Schulz replied that it is not possible not to speak with a country. By discussing the nuclear option, negotiation becomes possible and may perhaps prevent conflict. (MD/transl.jl)