Parliament arms 2024 Sakharov Prize to Venezuelan opposition
The European Parliament has awarded the 2024 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado and President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia.
During the ceremony at December’s plenary session in Strasbourg, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola paid tribute to their fight to restore democracy in Venezuela.
Parliament recognises the opposition as the legitimate winners of Venezuela’s July 2024 presidential election, and condemns the electoral fraud and rights violations carried out by the Maduro regime that stayed in power despite mass protests.
The Sakharov Prize is the EU’s highest award for human rights defenders. The other finalists from 2024 were Azerbaijani anti-corruption activist Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu and the Women of the Sun and Women Wage Peace movements, which promote reconciliation and understanding between Israelis and Palestinians.
Read more on the 2024 Sakharov Prize winners: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20240913STO23909/sakharov-prize-2024-goes-to-venezuelan-opposition-leaders
