Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar winners of 2016 Sakharov Prize

EU News 348/2016

27/10/2016
European Parliament

Yazidi survivors and public advocates Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar are this year's joint laureates of the European Parliament Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, following a decision by Parliament President Martin Schulz and the political group leaders on 27 October. The Sakharov award ceremony will be held in Strasbourg on 14 December.

By awarding the prize to Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar “we are demonstrating that their fight has not been in vain and that we are prepared to step up to the plate to help them in their fight against the hardship and brutality perpetrated by this so-called Islamic state to which so many people are still exposed to,” Schulz said speaking in plenary. “They were able to flee, to escape to Europe and find sanctuary here,” he added.

Nadia Murad Basee Taha and Lamiya Aji Bashar are survivors of sexual enslavement by Islamic State (IS) and have become spokespersons for women afflicted by the terrorist group’s campaign of sexual violence. They are also public advocates for the Yazidi community in Iraq, a religious minority that has been the subject of a genocidal campaign by IS militants.

Source and additional information:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/20161024STO48414/nadia-murad-and-lamiya-aji-bashar-winners-of-2016-sakharov-prize

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