Malala Yousafzai receives theSakharov Prize from EuropeanParliament President MartinSchulz in Strasbourg onWednesday.
LONDON – Pakistani teenageactivist Malala Yousafzai, whosurvived a Taliban assassinationattempt last year, today receivedthe EU’s Sakharov humanrights prize at a ceremony inStrasbourg. EuropeanParliament President MartinSchulz presented the award tothe 16-year-old who was nominatedfor the Nobel Peace Prizeearlier this year. Malala dedicatedthe award to “the unsungheroes of Pakistan” and tohuman rights campaignersworldwide. “I am hopeful theEuropean Parliament will lookbeyond Europe to the sufferingcountries where people are stilldeprived of their basic rights,their freedom of thought issuppressed, freedom of speechis enchained,” she said. TheSakharov Prize for free speechis awarded by the EuropeanParliament annually in memoryof Soviet physicist AndreiSakharov.The 50,000-euro prizeis considered Europe’s tophuman rights award. Malalajoins a distinguished list of winnersof the prize that includesSouth Africa’s Nelson Mandelaand Aung San Suu Kyi ofMyanmar.
