The other finalists named yesterday (9 October) for the European Parliament prize are Ales Bialiatski, an imprisoned Belarussian opposition figure; and Iranians Nasrin Sotoudeh, an imprisoned lawyer and human rights advocate, and Jafar Panahi, a film director.

The laureate will be announced on 26 October following a decision of the Conference of Presidents. The winner will receive €50,000 and be invited to attend the award ceremony on 12 December in Strasbourg.

The Sakharov Prize, named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, was established in 1988 by the European Parliament (see background). Recent recipients were the Russian civil rights society Memorial in 2009, the Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas in 2010, and in 2011, representatives of the Arab people in recognition of their role in the Arab Spring.