The Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought is given by the European Parliament annually since 1988. Previous recipients include Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi. Among the nominees for this year are Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban last year,…and – this was to be expected since the controversy broke – the US whistleblower Edward Snowden. He was nominated on Monday by the Green group in the European Parliament. His nomination is in recognition of his “enormous service” to human rights and to the European citizens, the Green group said. The winner of the 50,000-Euro prize will be announced on October 10 and is awarded in Strasbourg on November 20. [On August 30, Snowden received the biennial Whistle Blower Award 2013 in Germany, in recognition of his “bold efforts” to expose the monitoring of communications data by his former employer.}
Euro MPs nominate Snowden for rights prize – Europe – Al Jazeera English.
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