Since October 2020, the EU has&nbsp;progressively imposed restrictive measures&nbsp;against Belarus in response to the fraudulent nature&nbsp; presidential elections in&nbsp;2020, and the&nbsp;intimidation and violent repression&nbsp;of peaceful protesters, opposition members and journalists.&nbsp;

The democratic opposition, including the opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, was awarded the&nbsp;2020 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

The Belarusian regime has became an ally&nbsp;with Russia’s illegal war on Ukraine. This includes the so-called referendum reinstating the country’s nuclear status, but also that Belarus has allowed Russian troops and weapons to move through its territory, use its airspace, refuel and store military ammunition.

Therefore, the EU has extended the sanctios package against Russia to Belarus. The EP has recently called that "all EU sanctions issued against Russia must be strictly mirrored for Belarus and implemented appropriately".

EU - Belarus

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named in honour of the Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov, is awarded each year by the European Parliament. It was set up in 1988 to honour individuals and organisations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Each nominee must have the support of at least 40 MEPs, and each individual Member may support only one nominee. Signed nominations accompanied by supporting evidence are then assessed in a joint meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), the Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) and the Committee on Development (DEVE). A shortlist of three candidates is drawn up through a vote by AFET and DEVE committees, and then submitted to the Conference of Presidents for a final vote. The winner is announced in October, and the award ceremony takes place in December at the plenary sitting in Strasbourg.

The nominations for the 2020 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought are:

The democratic opposition in Belarus, represented by the Coordination Council, initiative of brave women and political and civil society figures, nominated by EPP, S&amp;D, Renew Europe 
Mgr Najeeb Moussa Michaeel, Archbishop of Mosul, Iraq nominated by ID 
Guapinol activists and Berta Caceres in Honduras, nominated by Greens/EFA, GUE/NGL 
The democratic opposition in Belarus, represented by Sviatlana Tsikhanouska, nominated by ECR 
Polish LGBTI activists Jakub Gawron, Paulina Pajak, Paweł Preneta and Kamil Maczuga, founders of the website Atlas of Hate, nominated by Malin Björk, Terry Reintke, Marc Angel, Rasmus Andresen and 39 other MEPs.

The democratic opposition in Belarus has been awarded the 2020 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

Democratic Opposition in Belarus, Sakharov Prize 2020

In a formal sitting, the two prominent opposition leaders from Belarus address plenary.

Sergey Tihanovski was pardoned and released from jail, along with 13 other political prisoners in June. He ran as presidential candidate in 2020 but was arrested and sentenced to 18 years in prison for “organising riots” and “inciting hatred” and then to 18 months extra for “insubordination”. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya entered the presidential race in her husband’s place and ran against Alexander Lukashenko, who was declared winner of the fraudulent 2020 elections. In a text adopted in October 2020, the European Parliament noted that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was president-elect in the eyes of the Belarusian people and that her Coordination Council was the legitimate representative of the people of Belarus.

MEPs and Council and Commission representatives discuss the situation in Belarus five years after the fraudulent presidential elections

After the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus, the Lukashenko regime launched a brutal and systematic crackdown on peaceful protests against the fraudulent election result. Since then, the Belarusian authorities have pursued a campaign to shut down civil society, silence independent media and eliminate all forms of political opposition. Thousands have been unjustly detained, subjected to torture and ill-treatment, or forced into exile. In January 2025, Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, won a seventh consecutive presidential term. Opposition leaders and activists did not react to the vote, as most had been jailed or gone into exile, and no dissent is tolerated inside the country.

Formal sitting with Sergey Tihanovski and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

EP Plenary session - Formal Sitting with Sergey TIHANOVSKI, Sakharov Prize laureate 2020 and Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, leader of democratic forces of Belarus

Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought Strasbourg - Belarusia - Public online conference in cooperation with the City of Strasbourg

Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2020- Press conference

Press conferences with Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2020 laureates

EP Plenary session -Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2020

EP Plenary session- Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought Award Ceremony 2020

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya meeting the Belarusian diaspora

Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2020- David SASSOLI, EP President meets with the representatives of the democratic opposition in Belarus, laureates of the Sakharov Prize 2020.

David SASSOLI, EP President  meets with Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2020 laureates

Address by Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, leader of democratic forces of Belarus to the European Parliament. This transcription if the result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Formal Sitting with Sergey TIHANOVSKI, Sakharov Prize laureate 2020 and Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, leader of democratic forces of Belarus: address by Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, leader of democratic forces of Belarus

Roberta METSOLA, EP President opens the formal sitting with Sergey TIHANOVSKI, Sakharov Prize laureate 2020 and Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, leader of democratic forces of Belarus. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Formal Sitting with Sergey TIHANOVSKI, Sakharov Prize laureate 2020 and Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, leader of democratic forces of Belarus: opening statement by Roberta METSOLA, EP President

Address by Sergey TIHANOVSKI, Sakharov Prize laureate 2020, to the European Parliament. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Formal Sitting with Sergey TIHANOVSKI, Sakharov Prize laureate 2020 and Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, leader of democratic forces of Belarus: address by Sergey TIHANOVSKI, Sakharov Prize laureate 2020

This News item shows the arrival of Sergey TIHANOVSKI, Sakharov Prize laureate 2020 and Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, leader of democratic forces of Belarus, to the EP, their meeting with Roberta METSOLA, EP President and extracts from the address. In a formal sitting, the two prominent opposition leaders from Belarus address plenary. Sergey Tihanovski was pardoned and released from jail, along with 13 other political prisoners in June. He ran as presidential candidate in 2020 but was arrested and sentenced to 18 years in prison for “organising riots” and “inciting hatred” and then to 18 months extra for “insubordination”. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya entered the presidential race in her husband’s place and ran against Alexander Lukashenko, who was declared winner of the fraudulent 2020 elections.

Formal Sitting with Sergey TIHANOVSKI, Sakharov Prize laureate 2020 and Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, leader of democratic forces of Belarus: extracts from the meeting with Roberta METSOLA, EP President and from the address to the plenary

Former Sakharov Prize laureates join the #UseYourVote campaign ahead of the European Parliament elections on 6-9 June. Svetlana TICHANOVSKAJA, Oleksandra MATVIICHUK, Lorent SALEH, Louise XIN and Leonid VOLKOV have a message for European citizens.

European elections 2024: Sakharov Prize laureates send a message to European citizens

This infoclip is a part of the video series called "European Parliament’s priorities and achievements (2019-2024)", demonstrating Parliament's unwavering commitment to human rights and democracy around the globe. Since 1988, Parliament’s Sakharov Prize recognises individuals, groups and organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to protecting freedom of thought in the world. The info clip shows illustrative material related to the five Sakharov Laureates of the 9th legislative term, namely Uyghur economist Ilham Tohti fighting for the rights of China’s Uyghur minority, the democratic opposition in Belarus, Russian opposition leader, lawyer, anti-corruption activist and political prisoner Alexei Navalny, the brave people of Ukraine as well as Jina Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran.

European Parliament’s priorities and achievements (2019-2024): Support to democracy and human rights activities

The leader of the democratic forces of Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, will address MEPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee. She outline her views to the Foreign Affairs Committee on the war in Ukraine and the role of Belarus in the conflict, as well as comment on the latest political situation in Belarus, which is still ruled by an oppressive regime under dictator Aliaksandr Lukashenka.

Exchange of views with Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA, leader of democratic forces of Belarus and Sakharov Prize laureate 2020: extracts - EP AFET Committee in association with the Delegation for relations with Belarus

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya speaks in the European Parliament’s hemicycle in Strasbourg. Her visit comes amid a continuing geopolitical crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

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