40 members of the European Parliament signed the document nominating the Belarusian political prisoners for the Sakharov prize.

The head of the Viasna human rights center Ales Bialiatski was nominated for the Sakharov prize last year too. He finished second in the number of votes. However the prize then went to the Iranians – a lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and a film director Jafar Panahi, who are currently imprisoned in their country.

The prize named after the soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov was founded in December 1985 by the European Parliament. It is awarded to people or organizations, which defend people’s rights and freedoms.