Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny won the Andrei Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, established by the European Parliament. This was announced by the head of the European Parliament David Sassoli.

“He tirelessly fights the corruption of the Vladimir Putin regime. It cost him his freedom and almost his life. Today’s award bears witness to his immense courage and we reiterate our call for his immediate release, ”Sassoli tweeted.

The Andrei Sakharov Prize is the main award of the European Union in the field of human rights. It has been awarded since 1988, its prize fund is 50 thousand euros.

Over the years, South African President Nelson Mandela, UN head Kofi Annan, Soviet and Russian human rights activist Lyudmila Alekseeva, Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov became laureates of the award. In 2020, the Andrei Sakharov Prize was awarded to the Belarusian opposition.

Alexey Navalny has been awarded several prestigious human rights awards since the beginning of 2021. He, in particular, became a laureate of the Geneva Forum for Human Rights and Democracy Prize , Boris Nemtsov Foundation Prize , the Polish  Knight of Freedom Prize and the German M100 Media Award .

Navalny was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize this year, but it was received by the editor-in-chief of the Russian Novaya Gazeta, Dmitry Muratov, and the Filipino journalist Maria Ressa. Companions of Navalny publicly expressed regret that the prize did not go to him, but the politician himself congratulated Muratov and Ressa.

(C)MEDUZA 2021