Brussels, 12/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - Around forty MEPs from several political groups - including Emma Bonino and Olivier Dupuis for the Radicals, Pasqualina Napoletano and Harlem Désir for the Socialist group, Hélène Flautre for the Greens/EFA, Roseline Vachetta for the GUE/NGL, Miet Smet for the EPP and Fréderique Ries for the Liberals proposed a joint candidature for the 2002 Sakharov Prize (for the other candidates put forward so far, see EUROPE 9/10 September p 5). Their candidates are: former Vice President of the Tunisian League for Human Rights, Sihem Bensedrine, who edits the on-line magazine, Kalim: harassed by the police for years and briefly detained for having exposed torture and corruption. A press release indicated that she could receive a sentence of "several years"; Professor Saad Eddin Ibrahim, is Secretary General of the Independent Egyptian Electoral Control Committee and since 1998 has been director of the Ibn Khaldun Centre for Development. Tried by a State Security Court with his 27 colleagues, he was accused of having "defrauded the EU" (which finances the Centre) but the Union categorically denies these allegations (see EUROPE 7 September p 6 on Chris Pattens's ideas expressed at the plenary).