Finalists for the Sakharov Prize include Venezuela’s Machado and González Urrutia

Venezuela’s María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia were among the finalists this Thursday for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Conscience in 2024, the European Parliament announced.

González Urrutia has been referred to as the “elected president” of Venezuela, following the controversial presidential elections held in that country on July 28.

According to the European Parliament, Machado and González Urrutia “represent Venezuelans inside and outside the country who fight to restore freedom and democracy.”

“Incumbent Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared victory in the election, but the results were disputed by independent observers, including the United Nations,” the parliament said.

“The European Parliament recognized Gonzalez as the legitimate president of Venezuela in a September 2024 resolution,” he said.

In addition to the two Venezuelans, Azeri anti-corruption activist Gubad Ibadoglu and two women’s groups, the Palestinian “Women of the Sun” and the Arab-Israeli “Women for Peace”, were named as finalists.

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Conscience is awarded annually by the European Parliament and pays tribute to nuclear physicist and Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1975.

The prize carries a prize of 50,000 euros (about $53,000) and will be awarded on December 18.

In 2023, the Sakharov Prize was awarded to Masha Amini, a young Iranian who died in police custody in 2022.

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