Assange nominated for the Sakharov Prize

Julian Assange
Gillian Assange / Photo: EPA-EFE / FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has been nominated for the Sakharov Prize, which is a recognition given by the European Union to individuals and groups who have dedicated their lives to the defense of human rights and freedom of thought.

In addition to him, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Truth Commission from Colombia have also been nominated.

Nominations must collect the signatures of at least 40 MEPs.

Assange's wife Stella, speaking from Brussels where the nominations were announced, told DPA that Julian's nomination was confirmation of how much "human rights groups around the world support Assange and respect his work".

Hina reports that the "Sakharov" prize was first awarded in 1988 and then it was awarded to the anti-apartheid fighter Nelson Mandela and posthumously to the Soviet dissident Anatoly Marchenko. Last year, the prize was awarded to Russian activist Alexei Navalny.

The award was established in honor of the Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov.

In 2019, from the Ecuadorian Embassy, ​​where he spent several years protected from the persecution of the American authorities, the founder of WikiLeaks was transferred to the "Belmarsh" prison, near London.

Assange, 51, has waged a long legal battle to avoid extradition to the United States, which has wanted to try him since 2010 for publishing more than 700.000 classified documents on the WikiLeaks website, which related to the activities of the US military, particularly in Iraq. and Afghanistan.

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