Mahsa Amini and Iranian Women Nominated for the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize

Mahsa Amini and Iranian women have been nominated for the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Human Rights, known for promoting freedom of thought. Nominees for this award are proposed by political groups or at least 40 members of parliament. The European People's Party has nominated Mahsa Amini and Iranian women for the 2023 award. According to a report by AFP, three major groups in the European Parliament have supported granting this award to Mahsa Amini, increasing the chances of her and Iranian women's recognition. The nomination states that 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested by the morality police during a trip to Tehran last September over her hijab, was beaten, and her death sparked widespread protests in Iran, with women at the forefront chanting 'Women, Life, Freedom' in opposition to mandatory hijab and other discriminatory laws. Activists from other countries, including Afghanistan, are among this year's Sakharov Prize nominees. Last year, the people of Ukraine received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought for their struggle against the Russian invasion. The annual Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought has been awarded since 1988 to individuals and organizations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms. This award is named after Andrei Sakharov, a physicist and political dissident in the Soviet Union, and is valued at 50,000 euros. The Sakharov Prize will be awarded in December. A court in Belarus sentenced two teenagers to prison for graffiti against Lukashenko. The Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament was awarded to democracy advocates in Belarus. The Nobel Foundation canceled invitations to the ambassadors of Iran, Russia, and Belarus to attend the award ceremony in Stockholm. The 'Global Music Awards' were given to Tomaj Salehi, and the 'Golden Pen of Freedom' was awarded to Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi.