The European Parliament’s 2020 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is to be presented to the democratic opposition in Belarus.

The parliament awards the prize every year to honour individuals and organisations that have defended human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Resilience

Announcing the award, European Parliament President David Sassoli praised representatives of the Belarusian opposition for their courage, resilience and determination.

“They have stood and still stay strong in the face of a much stronger adversary. But they have on their side something that brute force can never defeat – and this is the truth,” he said.

Disputed election results

Opposition groups have been staging protests in Belarus since the disputed presidential election results on 9 August, after which the country’s outgoing president Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner. Lukashenko has been in power since 1994.

In association with the prize, the European Parliament is running a Sakharov student journalism competition.

To enter, students should submit an article they have written on:

• The 2020 Sakharov Prize,
• Any of this year’s finalists,
• A previous winner

The report must have been published in a mainstream news outlet, student paper or student media outlet.

The closing date for entries is Friday 27 November and the prize is a trip to Strasbourg in 2021 (circumstances permitting).

The parliament organised a number of debates about the Sakharov Prize and its nominees with students at the University of Limerick, Maynooth University, NUIG, UCC and UCD.