During the presentation of nominees for the 2018 Sakharov Prize, several MEPs spoke out, on Thursday 27 September, against the nomination of pro-life activist Mary Wagner, proposed by Marek Jurek (ECR, Poland) and 41 other MEPs.
Although, in Jurek's opinion, Wagner defends the right to life of unborn children, and "takes on her own shoulders the burden of an unjust law that denies the human dignity of the weakest", Ana Miranda (Greens/EFA, Spain) regrets Wagner's nomination, which brings into question a fundamental right. "We believe this is a manipulation of the Prize. It's a shame for previous winners", she said, to the applause of several MEPs. "We cannot exploit a prize as big as the Sakharov Prize", her compatriot Elena Valenciano (S&D) added.
Nevertheless, for Eduard Kukan (EPP, Slovakia), the Sakharov Prize is "a prize for the freedom of expression, and the freedom of thought. Different interpretations can be given to it. When these nominees are discussed (...) let's concentrate on the positive aspects to determine who will win it".
Eight nominees in running for 2018 prize
The MEPs thus defended their nominee. As well as Wagner, seven other nominees have been proposed for the 2018 Sakharov Prize.
For the ENF, Italian national Mario Borghezio presented the NGO Afriforum, "that aims at protecting the rights of minorities in South Africa, especially (white) farmers". "Since 2016, it has been committed to minorities. It is recognised at international level for tis work", he added.
The ECR puts forward German lawyer Seyran Ates, who was born in Turkey. In the opinion of Geoffrey Van Orden, this "courageous woman" campaigns against the oppression of women and "last June opened the Ibn Rushd-Goethe mosque where men and women can pray together".
According to Dutch national Marietje Schaake from the ALDE Group, it is Caesar who should received the Sakharov Prize. "Caesar is a real hero, an ordinary Syrian who took an extremely courageous decision" and carried out "a heroic act" by bringing 55,000 visual documents out of the country showing the torture and death of 11,000 Syrians.
The EFDD supports the nomination of Dewayne Johnson, "a heroic groundskeeper from San Francisco, who succeeded in putting Monsanto in the dock", Italian national Fabio Castaldo stated. For his fellow citizen Ignazio Corrao, this is not only about the "fight to death against a chemicals Goliath, but about the fight of an individual against the abuses of multinationals".
Eleven NGOs saving lives in the Mediterranean (Proactiva Open Arms, SOS Mediterranée, Médecins sans frontières International, Sea-Watch, Sea Eye, Jugend Rettet, Lifeline, MOAS, Save the Children, PROEM-AID and Boat Refugee Foundation) are supported by the S&D and Greens/EFA Groups. These organisations "have been throwing themselves at the sea since 2015 to save human lives and to plug the scandalous gaps in the EU's response", Valenciano said, adding that they should be "rewarded and not attacked". "For once we want to award the prize to European NGOs because, with us too, human rights need to be protected", Miranda stated.
On behalf of the EPP, Kukan supported Oleg Sentsov, the Ukrainian film director detained in Siberia, hoping Sentsov's voice – that of "honour, freedom and democracy" – would be heard. "Hope and freedom must not die in silence", he added, with Sentsov having now been on hunger strike for 127 days.
On behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, French national Marie-Christine Vergiat meanwhile presented Nasser Zefzafi from Morocco, who is in prison for having protested in 2016 against socio-economic inequalities in the Rif region. "We want to support a symbol, to tell the authorities that repression leads to nothing", she said, adding that it was important to help the social movement be recognised and to help Morocco respond to the social aspirations of its people.
The three Sakharov Prize finalists will be named on 9 October and the winner will be announced on 25 October. The prize will be awarded on 12 December during the European Parliament's plenary session. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)