Jailed Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi have won this year’s Sakharov Award from the European Parliament.
AFP reports that on October 26, the European Parliament awarded the 50,000-euro human rights and freedom of thought prize to the two Iranians.
Nasrin Sotoudeh, an Iranian human rights lawyer, has been jailed since September of 2010 on charges of “acting against national security, collusion and propaganda against the regime and membership in the Defenders of Human Rights Centre”.
Sotoudeh, serving a six-year jail term, is now on a hunger strike in protest against her treatment in prison and the restrictions on visits with family members.
Jafar Panahi, an Iranian dissident filmmaker, has been barred by the government from making any more movies after he showed public support for protesters against the 2009 election, which was marred by allegations of vote fraud.
The Shakharov Prize has been awarded to figures such as Nelson Mandela, San Suu Kyi, Kofi Annan and the Arab Spring Activists.
