The 2025 Sakharov Prize has been awarded to a pair of journalists -- the Polish-Belarusian Andrzej Poczobut and Georgian Mzia Amaglobeli -- who are in prison on charges related to their reporting on democracy and civil society.
The European Parliament’s Conference of Presidents, consisting of the leaders of the political groups in the chamber and the legislature's president, Roberta Metsola, announced the winners on October 22.
"Both are journalists currently in prison on trumped-up charges, simply for doing their work, and for speaking out against injustice," Metsola said in a statement announcing the winners.
"Their courage has made them symbols of the struggle for freedom and democracy. This House stands with them, and with all those who continue to demand freedom."
Serbian students who have protested against the government in Belgrade for over a year and journalists and humanitarian aid workers in the Gaza Strip were also shortlisted for the 50,000 euros ($58,000) prize.
The European Union's top human rights award was created in 1988 in honor of the Russian scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov and has become one of the chamber's key public relations tools, with repressive regimes often lashing out at European lawmakers over nominations and winners.
Previous laureates include the former South African President Nelson Mandela, the Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny and the Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai.
Outspoken Critic Of Lukashenko
Poczobut has worked for several Belarusian and Polish publications and has been one of the leaders of the political organization “Union of Poles in Belarus” representing the Polish minority in the country. An outspoken critic of longtime authoritarian ruler Aleksandr Lukashenko’s regime, Poczobut has been repeatedly arrested by the authorities.
Detained in 2021 as part of the political crackdown on the opposition and civil society in the country following the fraudulent presidential election the year before, he was later sentenced to eight years in a penal colony.
While his family has been denied visits, there has been hope that he soon might be released as the United States has been negotiating with Minsk to relieve some sanctions in exchange for letting out some of the estimated thousands of political prisoners in the country.
The opposition politician Alyaksandr Milinkevich, the association of Belarusian journalists and the democratic opposition in Belarus, headed by Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, have previously been awarded the prize.
Deteriorating Health In Prison
Amaglobeli, the founder of the independent media outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, was detained in early 2025 and later sentenced to two years in prison for “resisting or using violence against a law enforcement officer” during a pro-European protest following the controversial parliamentary elections in Georgia in October 2024.
Since then, there have been numerous reports about her deteriorating health while being incarcerated. Her verdict, denounced by the EU, European and International Federations of Journalists and right groups, is seen as part of a broader state campaign to silence dissent and restrict freedom of expression in Georgia.
Regarded as the first female political prisoner in Georgia since its independence in 1991, she is also the first Georgian to receive the prize.
The award ceremony will take place in Strasbourg on December 16.
