By Country / Russia
Politkovskaya Nominated For Top EU Human Rights Prize
September 10, 2007
A rally in memory of Anna Politkovskaya in Moscow on August 30 (RFE/RL)
The EU's Human Rights Unit told RFE/RL that Politkovskaya is among the candidates for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
Politkovskaya, who wrote frequently about rights abuses in the restive Russian republic of Chechnya, was gunned down in the stairwell of her Moscow apartment in October 2006.
Other candidates for the prize include an Afghan women's rights defender and lawmaker, Joya Malalai; Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew; two Chinese rights defenders; and a Sudanese human rights attorney.
A short-list of three will be announced on September 24, with the winner chosen in October.
The Sakharov Prize is awarded annually to individuals and groups fighting against oppression, intolerance, and injustice. It is named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, and comes with a check for 50,000 euros ($63,000).
Last year, the prize was awarded to Belarusian opposition leader Alyaksandr Milinkevich.
Other winners of the prize include international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, Kosovo leader Ibrahim Rugova, rights campaigners Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Wei Jingsheng of China, and Czech leader Alexander Dubcek.