Brussels, 29/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - The conference of the leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament decided in Strasbourg on Thursday 29 October that the 2015 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought should be awarded to Saudi Arabian blogger Raif Badawi
“The conference of Presidents decided that the Sakharov Prize will go to Saudi blogger Raif Badawi”, said Parliament President Martin Schulz in plenary session. He described Badawi, an ardent fighter for “freedom of expression”, as “an exemplary good man” who “has had imposed on him one of the most gruesome penalties that exist in this country which can only be described as brutal torture”.
Badawi was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, 1,000 lashes and a heavy fine for insulting Islamic values on his blog promoting social, political and religious debate. “He has become a hero for many”, Schulz added, stating that relations between the EU and its partner states were dependent on respect for human rights. In Badawi's case, human rights have not been respected but have been trampled on, Schulz went on to say.
He called on the King of Saudi Arabia to stop the execution of this sentence and to release Badawi so that he can return to his wife and family, currently living in Canada, and “allow him to travel here for the December session to receive this prize”. The award ceremony will take place during the plenary session of the European Parliament on 16 December.
Spokesperson Margaritis Schinas congratulated Badawi, on behalf of the European Commission, on his being awarded the Sakharov prize.
Badawi's wife, Ensaf Haidar, said that she was “very pleased”. “This prize is a message of hope and courage for him and it is also a message for the Saudi authorities that Raif is not guilty”, Haidar is reported by AFP as saying (our translation). “I hope that this prize will advance his cause and allow Raif Badawi to rejoin his family”, she added.
The other two finalists for the 2015 Prize were Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov (posthumously) and the democratic opposition in Venezuela (see EUROPE 11411). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)