Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaglobeli will receive Sakharov Prize

The EPP Group is happy to learn that Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaglobeli, journalists from Belarus and Georgia, will be jointly awarded the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, following the nomination by the EPP Group. 

“The European Parliament sends a sign of solidarity to the political prisoners in Belarus and to the Georgian people fighting for freedom with EU flags in the streets. Journalists behind bars are the clearest sign of a dictator’s fear. Andrzej and Mzia are examples of courage and strength for us. We thank them for this example", said Rasa Juknevičienė MEP and co-initiator of the nomination.

“Andrzej Poczobut refused to be silenced. He fights not only for his compatriots' freedom, but for ours as well, and bears a heavy burden for it. By awarding him the Sakharov Prize, the Parliament honours his courage and, we hope, contributes to his release. Poczobut is an example for journalists and for all Europeans. A dictator may take away his physical freedom, but he will not break his courage nor conscience, and that is what hurts Lukashenka the most. That is why Poczobut is his enemy number one, and for us, Europeans, a reminder of what European ideals and values truly are,” stresses Andrzej Halicki MEP, Vice-Chair of the EPP Group, who was a fellow initiator of the nomination.

“Andrzej Poczobut is a man of unbreakable spirit. The Sakharov Prize goes to a man who did not allow himself to be crushed by Lukashenko, to a man who is paying for his heroism with his health in a labour camp. At last, Europe has honoured and acknowledged Andrzej Poczobut’s struggle. This is a great moment”, says Łukasz Kohut MEP,  Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee of Human Rights, and co-initiator of the nomination.

The Prize award ceremony will take place on 16 December.