BRUSSELS, Oct 22 (KUNA) -- Mzia Amaglobeli from Georgia and Andrzej Poczobut from Belarus are the laureates of the 2025 Sakharov Prize, the European Parliament has announced.
The two journalists, imprisoned in Belarus and Georgia, are the laureates of the 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, to be awarded by Parliament on December 16, the European Parliament said in a statement on Wednesday.
EP President Roberta Metsola said: "By awarding this yearآ’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Andrzej Poczobut from Belarus and Mzia Amaglobeli from Georgia, we honour two journalists whose courage shines as a beacon for all who refuse to be silenced.
Both have paid a heavy price for speaking truth to power, becoming symbols of the struggle for freedom and democracy. The Parliament stands with them, and with all those who continue to demand freedom." Andrzej Poczobut is a journalist, essayist, blogger and activist from the Polish minority in Belarus.
Mzia Amaglobeli, a Georgian journalist and director of online media outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, was arrested in January 2025 for joining anti-government protests in Georgia. In August, she was sentenced to two years in prison on political grounds.
The prize had been named after Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov, who was a Soviet physicist and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, which he was awarded in 1975 for emphasizing human rights around the world. (end) ar.rk