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16:10 GMT
BRUSSELS, Oct 20 (KUNA) - The European Parliament Wednesday awarded Russian opposition politician and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny its 2021 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
Parliament President David Sassoli commented that "The European Parliament has chosen Alexei Navalny as the winner of this year's Sakharov Prize."
"He has campaigned consistently against the corruption of Vladimir Putin's regime, and through his social media accounts and political campaigns, Navalny has helped expose abuses and mobilize the support of millions of people across Russia. For this, he was poisoned and thrown in jail," said Sassoli in a statement.
In August 2020, Navalny was poisoned and spent months recovering in Berlin. He was arrested on his return to Moscow in January 2021. He is currently serving a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence, with more than two years remaining.
The Sakharov award ceremony will be held on 15 December in Strasbourg.
The Sakharov prize was set up in 1988 to honor individuals and organizations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.
It is named in honor of Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov and carries the prize money of 50, 000 euros (USD 58,000).
Last year, Parliament awarded the prize to the democratic opposition of Belarus. (end)
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