David McAllister MEP: The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought (14 December 2023)
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14. Dezember 2023 In Aktuell, Allgemein, EN

David McAllister MEP: The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought (14 December 2023)

The European Parliament has been awarding the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought since 1988 to individuals or organisations who make outstanding contributions to human rights. Over the years, this prize has become the most visible expression of Parliament’s collective, cross-party commitment towards the protection and promotion of human rights.

It is about supporting those who stand up for freedom and justice every day all around the world. It is about shining a light on and raising awareness about the struggles those brave people face, about the sacrifices they make to fight for something that they know is worth standing up for: Freedom.

By awarding the late Jina Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement, represented by Mersedeh Shahinkar and Afsoon Najafi, with this award, the European Parliament honours the determination, the courage and the power of those individuals to fight for the freedom, the dignity and – literally – for the lives of women and men across Iran.

It has been over a year since Jina Mahsa Amini was brutally murdered by the henchmen of the Mullah regime because, according to the so-called guardians of morality, she was wearing her headscarf incorrectly. On 16 September 2022, she succumbed to her serious injuries in hospital. The headscarf became a symbol of the regime’s oppression. Women took it off en masse and courageously took to the streets to protest against the regime’s reign of terror. These courageous women were joined by men of all ages and social classes.

The injustice suffered by Jina Mahsa Amini on behalf of so many Iranian women became the fight for freedom from the brutal oppression of the Mullah regime.

This fight continues to this day.

The human rights situation has been deteriorating further, which is why the European Parliament called again for an immediate end to all discrimination against women in November. The practice of arbitrary detention, withholding medical treatment, police violence, torture, capital punishment, and the alarming rise in the number of executions are intolerable. The Mullah regime needs to release all victims of arbitrary detention immediately!

Furthermore, it is time to initiate criminal investigations into the crimes committed by the Iranian authorities, to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation and to sanction those responsible for human rights violations in Iran.

This year’s Sakharov Prize to the Woman, Life, Liberty Movement is not just an award for the courage and determination of your organisation and the many women and men in Iran. Equally, it is a pledge by the European Parliament that we will continue to stand in solidarity and support with you until the fight is won.

Let me underline my regret that the family of Jina Mahsa Amini was not able to be with us in Strasbourg. The Mullah regime confiscated their passports and prevented them from boarding their flight to France last weekend. Iranian authorities continue their brutal endeavour to silence the people’s call for freedom and justice. The European Union will not tolerate this. It is our job to ensure that the world knows the faces and the stories behind this liberation movement. It is our job to ensure that courageous people like Jina Mahsa Amini did not die in vain.