According to the Parliament’s president, the honor is ‘a tribute to the women, men and young people in Iran who, despite coming under increasing pressure, are leading the drive for change’
The European Parliament on Thursday awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Conscience to Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman who died last year while in police custody, and to the “Women, Life and Freedom” movement, born in the country after the protests caused by her death. Making the announcement, the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, said that Amini had sparked “a movement led by women that is making history”.
The announcement came just two weeks after 51-year-old Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi, currently imprisoned in the country, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and for her struggle to promote human rights and freedom for all”. The award caused outrage in the Iranian regime.
On Thursday, the president of the European Parliament said the award was a “tribute to the women, men and young people in Iran who, despite coming under increasing pressure, are leading the drive for change”.
– September 16, 2022 [when the young woman was killed] is a date that will remain in infamy – said Metsola. – The Women, Life and Freedom movement [which emerged in Iran after the death] is based on three words that have become a slogan for all those in favor of equality, dignity and freedom in Iran.
The young Kurdish woman was arrested last year by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the country’s dress code, which requires women to cover their heads with a veil and wear discreet clothing. Amini, 22, died three days later while in police custody. Her death sparked a wave of protests across Iran and gave rise to the movement.
The demonstrations and protests, however, were severely repressed. Against this backdrop, the EU adopted sanctions against those responsible for the repression, including senior leaders of Iran’s special Revolutionary Guards.
Last month, the Iranian parliament approved a bill that further toughens the penalties for girls and women who do not wear the compulsory headscarf in public places. The new legislation, which will have a trial period of three years, establishes that those who are reported or caught violating the Iranian dress code will face “fourth degree” punishment – which means between five and ten years in prison and fines of up to 7.3 thousand dollars.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Conscience is awarded annually by the European Parliament and pays tribute to the Soviet dissident and nuclear physicist Andrei Sakharov, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. The prize is accompanied by a reward of 50,000 euros and will be awarded on December 13.
The winner is decided by a vote in the so-called College of Presidents, which brings together the leader of the European Parliament and the heads of the party blocs. In the selection process, Amini and the movement she inspired obtained the emphatic support of the three largest political blocs represented in the European Parliament.