Mahsa Amini’s name is ‘secret code for freedom’ says mother as EU presents award

Strasbourg. This Tuesday, the European Parliament posthumously awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Conscience to the Iranian Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died in 2022 while in police custody in her country. Amini, 22, was arrested for non-compliance with the dress code imposed on women and three days later she was found dead in the police station where she was being held, apparently as a result of a beating. Amini's death sparked protest…

EU honors Iran protest icon Amini with Sakharov Prize

The European Parliament has given the EU's Sakharov Prize to the late Iranian protest figure Jina Mahsa Amini and a freedom movement associated with her. Tehran blocked Amini's family from attending.

Mahsa Amini, woman who died in Iranian custody, awarded rights prize by EU

The 22-year-old’s family blocked from coming to France from Iran to collect Sakharov prizeThe European parliament has presented a rights prize posthumously to Mahsa Amini, whose death in Iranian custody prompted mass protests, as her mother hailed her daughter’s name as “a secret code for freedom”.The award is the latest international recognition for the women challenging Iran’s religious government after Narges Mohammadi, the jailed activist, w…

Sakharov Prize awarded to Jina Mahsa Amini and the ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi’ movement in Iran

The EP 2023 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought has been awarded to Jina Mahsa Amini and the ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi’ (Woman, Life, Freedom) movement in Iran, in a ceremony on 12 December. The laureates were represented by Saleh Nikbakht, academic and lawyer representing Jina Mahsa Amini’s family; and Afsoon Najafi and Mersedeh Shahinkar, Iranian women's rights defenders who left Iran in 2023. Opening the award ceremony, President Metsola declared:…

Amini's parents and brothers were stopped by Iranian authorities on their way to France. Their passports were confiscated and they were forbidden to travel out of the country.

EU awards Mahsa Amini rights prize as Iran blocks family

The European Parliament awarded Mahsa Amini, a victim of Iranian custody who sparked protests, with the EU Sakharov Prize. Amini's family was blocked by the Iranian government from attending the ceremony. This recognition adds to the international acclaim received by women challenging Iran's religious government, following Narges Mohammadi's Nobel Peace Prize. The refusal to let Amini's family attend has outraged EU lawmakers, who believe Tehran…