On Thursday 25 October, the European Parliament decided to award the 2018 Sakharov Prize for the freedom of expression to Ukrainian film maker Oleg Stentsov, who has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for opposing Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea. Sentsov is the first Ukrainian winner of the Sakharov Prize and the first European winner since Mémorial in 2009.
The two other finalists were Zefzafi Nasser and 11 Mediterranean rescue NGOs (Proactiva Open Arms, SOS Méditerranée, Médecins Sans Frontières International, Sea-Watch, Sea Eye, Jugend Rettet, Lifeline, MOAS, Save the Children, PROEM-AID and Boat Refugee Foundation) (see EUROPE 12113).
"The conference of presidents of the political groups has decided to award the Sakharov Prize 2018 to Oleg Sentsov", European Parliament President Antonio Tajani announced before the plenary session vote. In his view, "thanks to his courage and determination, and by putting his life at risk (by going on a long hunger strike) the film maker Oleg Sentsov has become a symbol of the fight for the release of political prisoners in Russia and throughout the world". Tajani added that giving the Sakharov Prize to the Ukrainian expressed the European Parliament's solidarity and support for his cause.
The EPP, which proposed Sentsov's candidature for the prize, hailed his victory, as did the ECR and ALDE Groups. "Oleg Sentsov is a prisoner of conscience, an honest and innocent man (...) By supporting him, the European Parliament has taken advantage of the occasion to remain faithful to his convictions, to his principles of democracy, human rights and dignity, of the rule of law and of the freedom of thought", Eduard Kukan (EPP, Slovakia) stated. "I hope this prize will contribute to the release, and to the return to their country of origin, of Mr Sentsov and of all the Ukrainians arrested and sentenced in Russia for political considerations", ALDE Group leader, Guy Verhofstadt, stated, who supported Sentsov's candidacy in the final vote.
The losers, the GUE/NGL and S&D Groups, who had respectively proposed Zefzafi Nasser and the NGOs, paid tribute to Sentsov. "This is a political prisoner who should never have had to spend a single day in prison (...) We hope this prize will orientate the Russian authorities to the right path – to release him immediately, him and all the journalists wrongly imprisoned", S&D Group leader Udo Bullmann stated. For the GUE/NGL Group, the three finalists deserved to win.
The prize will be awarded at a plenary session ceremony in Strasbourg on 12 December.
The Commission has also congratulated Sentsov, saying that he has "shown incredible courage and determination" during his imprisonment and hunger strike. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)