STRASBOURG (FRANCE) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The European Parliament has awarded the 2023 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Jina Mahsa Amini and the “Women, Life and Freedom” movement in Iran.
The award was received by Saleh Nikbakht, an academic and lawyer who represents the family of Jina Mahsa Amini, Afsoon Najafi and Mersedeh Shahinkar, supporters of the movement in defense of Iranian women’s rights who left Iran in 2023.
The President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola said, “This year’s Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought, awarded to Jina Masha Amini and the Women, Life, Freedom movement is a tribute to all courageous Iranian women, men and young people, who despite growing pressure, continue to fight for their rights and push for change. The European Parliament listens to you and supports you. You are not alone”, Metsola was addressing the opening of the award ceremony.
Jina Mahsa Amini was a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman. She was arrested by police in Tehran on September 13, 2022 for ignoring Iran’s strict headscarf laws, and died in hospital three days later following physical abuse while in detention. Her death sparked massive protests led by women in Iran.
With the slogan “Women, life and freedom”, they protested against the hijab law and other discriminatory laws. On December 8, 2023, as they were about to embark for France to attend the ceremony, Jina Mahsa Aminìs parents and brother were stopped at Tehran airport by Iranian authorities and their passports were confiscated. They are now subject to a travel ban. On Saturday, Roberta Metsola called on “the Iranian regime to reverse its decision”.
The family was represented in Strasbourg by lawyer Saleh Nikbakht, who during the ceremony read a message from Jina Mahsa Aminìs mother, Mozhgan Eftekhari: “Jinàs pain is eternal for me, and it is imperishable for people around the world I firmly believe that her name, alongside that of Joan of Arc, will remain a symbol of freedom. From the birthplace of the eternal Jina, I convey to you, my and my family’s infinite gratitude and I hope that your choice be firm and proud. We hope that no voice is afraid to speak freedom”.
Following the repression of these protests by the Iranian regime, the European Parliament has repeatedly condemned the dramatic human rights situation in the country.
In October 2022, MPs called for sanctions against Iranian officials involved in both the death of Jina Mahsa Amini and the regime crackdown. In January 2023, MEPs called for further sanctions against the Iranian regime and for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be added to the EU’s terrorist list.
– Photo European Parliament –
(ITALPRESS).
