ranian woman honored with EU human rights award
Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in police custody in Iran last year, was honored with the European Union’s top human rights award on Thursday, sparking worldwide protests against the country’s conservative Islamic theocracy.
The European Union Prize, named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, was created in 1988 to honor individuals or groups who defend human rights and fundamental freedoms. Sakharov, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, died in 1989.
This year’s other finalists included Vilma Núñez de Escorcia and Roman Catholic Bishop Rolando Álvarez – two symbolic figures in the fight to defend human rights in Nicaragua – and a trio of women from Poland, El Salvador and the United States “Fighting for Was leading.” Free, safe, and legal abortion.”
Amini died on September 16, 2022, after being arrested for violating Iran’s mandatory headscarf law. European Parliament President Roberta Metzola said that day “will live in infamy,” adding that his “brutal murder” marked a turning point.
“It has launched a women-led movement that is making history,” he said in announcing the award to Amini and the Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran.
“The world has heard the mantra of ‘women, life, freedom’. Three words that have become a rallying cry for all those standing for equality, respect and freedom in Iran,” Metsola said.
