Russian NGO wins EU human rights prize 

European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek announced the winner this morning (22 October), after the presidents of the EU assembly's political groups had made their decision. 

Buzek expressed hope that the decision to award the prize to Memorial would "contribute to ending the circle of fear and violence surrounding human rights defenders in the Russian Federation". 

A Polish European People's Party source had last month told EurActiv that the Memorial activists - nominated by Polish EPP MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski and 59 others - had a "great chance" of getting the prize, a view confirmed by other parliamentary pundits (EurActiv 30/09/09). 

"By awarding this year's prize to Oleg Orlov, Sergei Kovalev and Lyudmila Alexeyeva on behalf of Memorial and all other human rights defenders in Russia, we hope […] to advance our message that civil society activists everywhere must be free to exercise their most basic rights of freedom of thought and freedom of expression," Parliament President Buzek said this morning. 

The Sakharov Prize was established by the Parliament in December 1988 as a means of honouring "individuals or organisations who dedicate their lives to the defence of human rights and freedoms, particularly the right to free expression". 

MEPs hailed the victorious Memorial for "promoting the truth about the political repression of the Soviet Union and fighting against current human rights abuses in post-Soviet states to ensure their democratic future". 

The Russian NGO seeks to defend human rights and fundamental freedoms, safeguard the rights of minorities, and support the development of democracy and the rule of law in the former Soviet space. 

It monitors and reports on hot spots of actual and potential conflict and human rights abuse including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Moldova, Crimea, North Ossetia, Ingushetia and Russia itself, focusing in particular on Chechnya. 

In November 2007, Memorial chair Oleg Orlov was abducted in Ingushetia, together with three journalists, before being beaten, threatened with execution and released. 

Sergei Kovalev, who founded the first Soviet human rights association in 1969, is an outspoken critic of authoritarian tendencies in the administrations of Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, and resigned in protest as head of Yeltsin's presidential human rights commission in 1996. 

The other winner, Lyudmila Mikhailovna Alexeyeva, campaigns for fair trials of arrested dissidents and objective coverage in the media. She is a vocal critic of the Kremlin's human rights record, particularly towards foreigners. 

MEPs harden Russia stance 

By awarding the prize to Memorial, the European Parliament appears to have hardened its stance towards Russia. Indeed, this is not the first time that MEPs have found themselves at odds with Moscow. 

Most recently, the European Parliament hosted a conference on 1939’s Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which split Poland in two between the USSR and Germany and led to the incorporation of Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania into the Soviet Union. 

The discussions exposed a political divide between socialist (S&D) members and the centre-right European People's Party on the issue of whether Nazi and communist crimes should be considered on an equal footing (EurActiv 15/10/09). 

The Sakharov Prize, consisting of a certificate and a cheque for €50,000, will be awarded at a ceremony in Strasbourg on 16 December. 

Announcing that Memorial had won this year's Sakharov Prize, European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek said "we need to be free to follow our thoughts because this is essential in getting at the truth". 

"Let me share with you my personal satisfaction that I can announce today this prize as the president of the European Parliament. In particular for a man who comes from Solidarity and who saw Poland fighting for truth and finally won freedom in the 1980s," Buzek added. 

Expressing delight that Memorial had been awarded the prize, French MEP Joseph Daul, chairman of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) group, said it was "well-deserved and will encourage their excellent work in favour of fundamental freedoms and democracy". 

"Memorial fulfils all the necessary criteria and merits this award to the highest possible degree. Its actions to fight for human rights and freedom are wide in scope and it groups together people of great courage, who are ready to sacrifice their lives," said Polish MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (EPP), who put forward Memorial's candidacy in July. 

"By giving this reward to Memorial, we are helping it continue its fight for fundamental freedoms and democracy," he added. 

"As a candidate, Memorial has received very high support. Its merits and achievements are meaningful and I hope that this award will strengthen all human rights defenders in Russia", said Polish EPP MEP Filip Kaczmarek, a member of the Parliament's development committee. 

Lithuanian MEP Leonidas Donskis  (ALDE), who had supported the candidature of Memorial for this year's prize, expressed his satisfaction with the outcome.

"This sends a powerful message to Russia where human rights defenders and dissenting journalists are being increasingly targeted and assassinated. I am personally delighted by Parliament's decision to grant the award to Memorial which is highly significant this year, on the 20th anniversary of Sakharov's death," Donskis said.

Swedish ALDE MEP Olle Schmidt, who had proposed Eritrean writer Dawit Isaak for the Sakharov prize, welcomed the initiative. 

"Every year there are many worthy candidates for this prestigious award that has enormous political and symbolic value. It is not possible to award it to everyone, but the process of nomination brings to light important cases of human rights abuses around the world," Schmidt said.

"Parliament is growing in stature and responsibility if it shows its determination to stand up for individual cases around the world like Mr. Isaak, who are prepared to put their lives at risk to shine a light on the darker spots around the world where democratic values are most ignored and under threat," he added.