Dawit Isaak nominated for the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize

On Wednesday 30 September, the European parliament unveiled the 10 nominations for this year's Sakharov prize for democracy and human rights campaining. The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded each year by the European Parliament. The prize was set up in 1988 to honour individuals or organisations for their efforts on behalf of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The intention is to honour exceptional individuals who combat intolerance, fanaticism and oppression. Like Andrei Sakharov himself, all the winners of the prize have shown how much courage it takes to defend human rights and freedom of expression. The Parliament awards the human rights prize, endowed with €50,000, at a formal sitting held in Strasbourg on or around 10 December, the day on which the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948. This year's candidates includes Swedish-Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaak, who has been imprisoned in Eritrea since 2001 without a trial. The heads of Parliament's political parties will choose the winner on 22 October before the official awards ceremony on 16 December 2009.

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