By Martin Banks

The final line up for the EU’s most prestige human rights award has been decided.

On Thursday, members of the EU parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Development Committees voted for the three finalists of the 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

The three finalists for the 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought are:

* Imprisoned journalists fighting for your freedom and ours, Andrzej Poczobut from Belarus and Mzia Amaglobeli from Georgia ;

 *Journalists and Humanitarian Aid Workers in Palestine and all conflict zones, represented by the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, the Red Crescent, and UNRWA ;

Serbian students.

The parliament’s Conference of Presidents, comprising European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and the leaders of the political groups, will choose the 2025 laureate from this  shortlist.Their decision will be announced in the Strasbourg Hemicycle during the plenary session on 22 October.

The award ceremony for the prize, which includes an allocation of €50,000, will take place on Tuesday 16 December in Strasbourg.

New data shows that EU citizens expect Parliament to prioritise fundamental democratic values. Peace (45%), democracy (32%) and human rights (22%) remain the main values that citizens want the European Parliament to uphold.

Named after a Soviet dissident, the prize is the EU’s highest distinction in the field of human rights. It is awarded by Parliament to individuals, groups or organisations each year in recognition of their work in support of human rights, freedom of expression and democratic values.

Numerous laureates have been awarded since 1988, including Nelson Mandela and Anatoly Marchenko in the first edition, but also dissidents, political leaders, journalists, lawyers, civil society activists, the United Nations and Reporters Without Borders.

Several Sakharov Prize laureates have also won the Nobel Peace Prize, such as 2024 Sakharov Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado who was just awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025, Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Denis Mukwege or Nadia Mourad.

Łukasz Kohut MEP, Vice-Chair of the Sub-committee on Human Rights and co-initiator of the nomination, told this site: “Andrzej Poczobut is an indomitable European. A seeker of truth. For his loyalty to his ideals, he paid a high price. Yet even in a cold cell, one can remain faithful to one’s ideals – Poczobut embodies this truth”

 Comment on Thursday also came from Rasa Juknevičienė, Parliament’s standing rapporteur on Georgia and co-initiator of the nomination, who said, “Mzia Amaglobeli is not just a brave journalist; she is a symbol of the entire Georgian nation fighting for a free, democratic, and European future. In current turbulent times, she is sending a message to all of us: “Fight before it is too late.”

Another MEP, Andrzej Halicki, EPP Group Vice Chair for Foreign Affairs, added, “Together, Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaglobeli represent two fronts of the same struggle – the defence of truth, dignity, and free expression against Kremlin-sponsored tyranny. They keep fighting for the freedom of their compatriots – and ours.

“Their stories mirror each other: journalists who chose conscience over fear, justice over silence.

“From Belarus to Georgia, from Ukraine to Moldova, their courage resonates across a region fighting for freedom in the shadow of oppression and Russian imperial influence. 

“Honouring Poczobut and Amaglobeli is more than a tribute to two remarkable individuals – it is a statement of solidarity with all who risk their freedom to defend democracy and the values on which Europe stands”