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Members in the plenary chamber of the European Parliament
Photo: Philipp von Ditfurth / dpa
The prestigious Sakharov Prize of the European Parliament this year goes to the opposition in Belarus.
This was announced by the President of the European Parliament.
In Belarus, people have been demonstrating for more than two months, despite the violent actions of the authorities against the ruler Alexander Lukashenko.
Since 1988, the European Parliament has awarded the Sakharov Prize to people or organizations who campaign for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The prize is named after the late Russian dissident and physicist Andrei Sakharov and is endowed with 50,000 euros.
In addition to the opposition in Belarus, the murdered Honduran activist Berta Cáceres and other environmental activists as well as the archbishop of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, Najib Michail Musa, were shortlisted for the human rights award this year.
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