Sakharov Prize facts for kids

Aung San Suu Kyi receiving the Sakharov Prize in 2013.

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is a special award for people or groups who have worked hard to protect human rights and the freedom to think and speak freely. It's often just called the Sakharov Prize. The prize is named after a Russian scientist and activist named Andrei Sakharov. The European Parliament started this award in December 1988.

Each year, the European Parliament's committees for foreign affairs and development choose a few people or groups who might win. Then, the leaders of the European Parliament make the final decision in October. The winner gets the award at a ceremony in Strasbourg, France, in December. The prize also comes with €50,000 (about $54,000 USD).

The first winners in 1988 were Nelson Mandela from South Africa and Anatoly Marchenko from Russia. In 1990, Aung San Suu Kyi won, but she couldn't get her award until 2013 because she was held as a political prisoner in her home country, Myanmar. Groups can also win, like the Argentine Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in 1992. Some Sakharov Prize winners have also won the Nobel Peace Prize, including Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, Malala Yousafzai, Denis Mukwege, and Nadia Murad.

Some winners have faced difficulties. Razan Zaitouneh (2011) went missing in 2013. Nasrin Sotoudeh (2012) was released from prison but cannot leave Iran, just like her fellow 2012 winner, Jafar Panahi.

Who Has Won the Sakharov Prize?

Key

	Means the award was given after the person had passed away.

Year	Picture	Winner	Country	What they are known for	Reference
1988		Mandela, NelsonNelson Mandela	South Africa	Fought against unfair racial segregation and became the first President of South Africa.
		Marchenko, AnatolyAnatoly Marchenko	Soviet Union	A Russian activist and writer who spoke out for human rights.
1989		Dubček, AlexanderAlexander Dubček	Czechoslovakia	A Slovak politician who tried to bring more freedom to his country.
1990		Aung San Suu Kyi	Myanmar	A politician known for her peaceful fight against military rule in Myanmar. She accepted her award in 2013 after being held for many years.
1991	-	Demaçi, AdemAdem Demaçi	Yugoslavia	A politician from Kosovo who was held as a political prisoner for a long time.
1992		Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo	Argentina	A group of mothers in Argentina whose children disappeared during a difficult time in their country's history.
1993		Oslobođenje	Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina	A newspaper that supported Bosnia and Herzegovina as a country for all ethnic groups.
1994		Nasrin, TaslimaTaslima Nasrin	Bangladesh	A feminist writer and former doctor.
1995		Zana, LeylaLeyla Zana	Turkey	A Kurdish politician from Turkey who was imprisoned for her political activities.
1996		Jingsheng, WeiWei Jingsheng	China	An activist who supported democracy in China.
1997		Ghezali, SalimaSalima Ghezali	Algeria	A journalist and writer who champions women's rights and democracy in Algeria.
1998		Rugova, IbrahimIbrahim Rugova	FR Yugoslavia	A Kosovo Albanian politician and the first President of Kosovo.
1999		Gusmão, XananaXanana Gusmão	East Timor	A former freedom fighter who became the first President of East Timor.
2000	-	¡Basta Ya!	Spain	An organization in Spain that brings people together against violence.
2001		Peled-Elhanan, NuritNurit Peled-Elhanan	Israel	A peace activist.
		Ghazzawi, IzzatIzzat Ghazzawi	Palestine	A writer and professor.
		Kamwenho, Dom ZacariasDom Zacarias Kamwenho	Angola	An archbishop and peace activist.
2002		Payá, OswaldoOswaldo Payá	Cuba	A political activist and critic of the government.
2003		Annan, KofiKofi Annan	Ghana	A Nobel Peace Prize winner and former leader of the United Nations.
		United Nations	International
2004	-	Belarusian Association of Journalists	Belarus	A group that works to protect freedom of speech and the rights of journalists.
2005		Ladies in White	Cuba	A group of women in Cuba who protest for the release of political prisoners.
		Reporters Without Borders	International	A group based in France that works for press freedom around the world.
		Ibrahim, HauwaHauwa Ibrahim	Nigeria	A lawyer who defends human rights.
2006		Milinkievič, AlaksandarAlaksandar Milinkievič	Belarus	A politician who ran for president in Belarus to represent the opposition.
2007		Mahmoud Osman, SalihSalih Mahmoud Osman	Sudan	A lawyer who defends human rights.
2008		Jia, HuHu Jia	China	An activist and government critic.
2009	-	Memorial	Russia	An international group that works for civil rights and studies history.
2010		Fariñas, GuillermoGuillermo Fariñas	Cuba	A doctor, journalist, and political activist.
2011		Mahfouz, AsmaaAsmaa Mahfouz	Egypt	Five people who represented the Arab people's fight for freedom and human rights.
		al-Senussi, AhmedAhmed al-Senussi	Libya
		Zaitouneh, RazanRazan Zaitouneh	Syria
		Farzat, AliAli Farzat
		Mohamed Bouazizi	Tunisia
2012		Panahi, JafarJafar Panahi	Iran	Iranian activists: Sotoudeh is a lawyer, and Panahi is a film director.
		Sotoudeh, NasrinNasrin Sotoudeh
2013		Yousafzai, MalalaMalala Yousafzai	Pakistan	A young activist who campaigns for girls' right to education.
2014		Mukwege, DenisDenis Mukwege	Democratic Republic of the Congo	A doctor who helps women who have been harmed in conflict.
2015		Badawi, RaifRaif Badawi	Saudi Arabia	A Saudi Arabian writer and activist who created a website for free discussion.
2016		Murad, NadiaNadia Murad	Iraq	Yazidi human rights activists who survived difficult experiences.
		Aji Bashar, LamiyaLamiya Aji Bashar
2017		Democratic opposition in Venezuela	Venezuela	Members of Venezuela's National Assembly and political prisoners, recognized for their bravery in facing government actions.
2018		Sentsov, OlegOleg Sentsov	Ukraine	A film director who represents the fight for the release of political prisoners.
2019		Ilham Tohti	China	A Uyghur economist, scholar, and human rights activist.
2020		Democratic opposition in Belarus	Belarus	People who are working for democracy in Belarus, including leaders and activists.
2021		Navalny, AlexeiAlexei Navalny	Russia	A Russian politician and activist who fights against corruption.
2022		The Ukrainian people	Ukraine	Recognized for protecting democracy, freedom, and the rule of law during a difficult time.
2023		Mahsa Jina Amini	Iran	Mahsa Amini's passing led to many protests, often using the slogan "Woman, Life, Freedom."
		Woman, Life, Freedom movement
2024		María Corina Machado	Venezuela	Opposition politicians.
		Edmundo González

Other Awards Like This

In Spanish: Premio Sájarov para niños

• Nobel Peace Prize
• Gandhi Peace Prize
• Mosaddegh Prize