The European Parliament awards the Sakharov Prize every year to honour exceptional individuals and organisations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms. This year, the ALDE Group in the European Parliament had nominated Nadia Murad Basee and Lamiya Aji Bashar, the Yazidi survivors and public advocates, who have today been shortlisted as one of the three finalists for the 2016 Sakharov Prize.

Nadia Murad Basee and Lamiya Aji Bashar are advocates for the Yazidi community and for women surviving sexual enslavement by Islamic State. They are both from Kocho, one of the villages near Sinjar, Iraq, which was taken over by Islamic State in the summer of 2014, and are among the thousands of Yazidi girls and women abducted by Islamic State militants and forced into sex slavery.

“These are two women who are very admirable, young and courageous and they symbolise the best of Europe’s and the world’s spirit,” said Beatriz Becerra Basterrechea MEP, an ALDE Group member from Spain and an ALDE Party individual member.

The other two finalists are Can Dündar and fellow defenders of freedom and thought and expression in Turkey and the Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzemilev.

The Conference of Presidents, made up of the Parliament President and the political group leaders, will announce the winner of the 2016 Sakharov Prize on 27 October 2016.

Best of luck to all the candidates who fight for a better world and above all for freedom!

Read more about the Sakharov Prize and the finalists on the European Parliament website.