BRUSSELS – The European Parliament in Brussels announced this year's finalists for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, which is awarded to individuals or organizations that have made important contributions to advancing human rights or democracy.
One of the three finalists is a collective "Arab Spring" nomination of five activists.
The five are Asmaa Mahfouz from Egypt, Ahmed al-Senussi from Libya, Razan Zeitouneh and Ali Farzat from Syria, and Mohamed Bouazizi from Tunisia.
Bouazizi set himself on fire in a desperate act that helped trigger the Tunisian revolution and eventually inspired the other Arab uprisings this year.
The two other finalists are the San José de Apartadó Peace Community, which operates in Colombia, and Dzmitry Bandarenka, a Belarusian activist.
The European Parliament said the winner will be announced on 27 October during a general session of the parliament.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
