Ukraine accepts Sakharov human rights prize as Zelensky addresses MEPs

The European Parliament’s prime human rights award was on Wednesday handed to its recipient, the Ukrainian individuals. 

A handful of Ukrainian politicians and members of civil society had been current on the European Parliament in Strasbourg to just accept the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined by videoconference to steer the hemicycle right into a minute of silence in reminiscence of all Ukrainians which have misplaced their lives due to the struggle.

MEPs awarded the prize to the Ukrainian individuals again in October, paying tribute to their every day struggle to guard their nation’s independence and territorial integrity. 

“We should act now, not ready for the struggle to finish, to convey to justice all those that unleashed it and to forestall any repetition of aggression. This would be the only safety of freedom, human rights, the rule of regulation and different widespread values, that are embodied specifically by this award by the European Parliament,” he additionally advised MEPs. 

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola praised “the inspiring resistance of abnormal residents making the final word sacrifice to delay a column of tanks, senior residents standing as much as face Russian troops with nothing however pleasure as weapons, courageous ladies pressured to provide beginning in underground metro stations.”

“To those individuals, the message from Europe has been clear: we stand with Ukraine, we cannot look away.”

Ivan Fedorov, the Mayor of Melitopol who made the journey to Strasbourg, advised Euronews that Russia’s efforts to affect the individuals of Ukraine failed.

“Russia tried to place Russian propaganda within the heads of residents within the occupied territories and mentioned: Russia is right here eternally. The EU and all European establishments have forgotten you. You’ll by no means be liberated,” Fedorov mentioned.

“And such an award because the Sakharov prize, such consideration that now step-by-step is given to our residents by the European Union, it reveals to our residents that no one has forgotten Ukrainians.”

No competitors

Even earlier than the official finalists had been introduced, Ukraine seemed to be the frontrunner.

Ukraine’s bid had been backed by the three major political teams, the European Individuals’s Celebration (EPP), the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), and Renew Europe, giving it a transparent edge over the opposite two candidates.

For the reason that begin of the invasion, the hemicycle has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, urging nationwide governments to impose extreme sanctions on the Kremlin and step up weapons deliveries.

In early March, mere days after Russian tanks crossed Ukraine’s borders, Zelenskyy delivered a rousing digital speech earlier than the European Parliament and made the case for his war-torn nation to hitch the bloc.

The Ukrainian president was hailed as a hero and obtained a standing ovation from lawmakers. The parliament’s translator turned emotional whereas deciphering Zelenskyy’s phrases.

Ukraine’s marketing campaign paid off in late June when the nation was granted EU candidate standing.

Nonetheless, Zelenskyy retains pleading with EU leaders to speed up army assist and micro-financial help, as Russian forces enhance their assaults on civilian targets and key infrastructure.

Assange and Colombia

Other than Ukraine, the finalists for this yr’s Sakharov Prize included WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Colombia’s Fact Fee.

Assange, who was nominated by a gaggle of 41 MEPs, is an Australian activist who faces spying expenses in the USA over a big trove of categorized paperwork that his organisation leaked to the general public greater than a decade in the past. The leaks uncovered proof of struggle crimes, human rights violations and torture.

From London’s Belmarsh jail, Assange is battling an extradition order from the UK to the US. His attorneys say he’s “being prosecuted and punished for his political beliefs” and may very well be sentenced to as much as 175 years behind bars if convicted in America.

The Fact Fee in Colombia, nominated by the Left group, was arrange in 2016 as a part of the peace settlement that dropped at an finish the battle between the nation’s authorities and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The fee was tasked with reconstructing the six a long time of struggle, establishing the info behind the human rights violations, and giving voice to the victims. The physique’s last report revealed that an estimated 450,000 individuals had been killed between 1985 and 2018.

The Sakharov Prize was arrange in 1988 to honour people and organisations defending human rights and elementary freedoms. The annual award is known as in honour of Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov, an advocate of civil liberties within the former Soviet Union.

The primary recipients had been Nelson Mandela and Anatoli Marchenko. Final yr’s prize was awarded to imprisoned Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny.