The leader of Venezuela's democratic forces and opposition candidate in July's presidential election will receive Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought for 2024. The ceremony will take place on 18 December in Strasbourg during the plenary session of the European Parliament (EP).
President of the EP Roberta Metsola announced the winners of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought for 2024 on Thursday in the Conference of Presidents' meeting room after the Conference of Presidents' meeting that made the decision.
Chair Metsola said: "The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2024 is awarded to María Corina Machado and President-elect Edmundo González Urruti for their courageous struggle to restore freedom and democracy in Venezuela. In their quest for a just, free and peaceful transfer of power, they have fearlessly defended the values that millions of Venezuelans and the European Parliament hold so dear: justice, democracy and the rule of law. The European Parliament stands with the Venezuelan people and with María Corina Machado and President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia in their fight for a democratic future for their country. This award is for them.'
María Corina Machado was elected presidential candidate of the Venezuelan opposition for the United Democratic Platform in 2023, but was later disqualified by the regime-controlled National Electoral Council.
Edmundo González Urrutia, the diplomat and politician who replaced her as the United Democratic Platform candidate, denounced the Venezuelan government's failure to publish the official results of the presidential election and questioned Nicolás Maduro's declared victory. Mr González Urrutia left the country in September after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
In the resolution adopted 19 September 2024 MEPs stressed that international election observation missions had clearly shown that the Venezuelan presidential elections did not meet international standards of electoral integrity. They recognised Edmund González Urrutia as the legitimate and democratically elected President of the country and María Corina Machado as the leader of the democratic forces.
The EP condemned the "electoral fraud" and the serious and systematic human rights violations committed against the democratic opposition, the Venezuelan people and civil society.
According to the Venezuelan government, 2 400 people were arrested during the demonstrations that followed the elections and NGOs reported the deaths of 24 people. María Corina Machado remains in hiding, while Edmundo González Urrutia has fled to Spain, which granted him political asylum on 7 September.
In its resolution of September 2024, the EP called on the EU to extend sanctions against the Venezuelan regime and apply targeted sanctions against Nicolás Maduro and his inner circle through the EU's global human rights sanctions regime. Ahead of the elections, the European Parliament called on Member States to maintain the sanctions imposed on the Maduro regime and criticised the unconstitutional decision to prevent prominent members of the political opposition, such as María Corina Machado, from standing in the 2024 elections.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov, is the EU's highest human rights award. Established in 1988, it is awarded annually by the EP to individuals or organisations for their work in one of the following areas: defence of human rights and fundamental rights, in particular freedom of expression, protection of minority rights, respect for international law, development of democracy and defence of the rule of law.
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