Pakistan’s Malala, US leaker Snowden among nominees for EU’s top human rights prize
Posted September 17, 2013 8:32 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BRUSSELS, Belgium – European lawmakers have nominated several candidates for the bloc’s top human rights prize, including Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai and U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden.
The European Parliament said in a statement late Monday they were among seven nominees for this year’s Sakharov prize. The finalist for the prestigious 50,000 euro ($65,000) award will be chosen next month.
The 16-year-old Malala, who survived a Taliban assassination attempt last year on her way home from school, was jointly nominated by three caucuses, making her the likely front-runner.
Snowden, who leaked a trove of documents on U.S. surveillance agencies’ spying programs, was nominated by the Greens, a smaller pro-environment group.
The prize is considered the Europe’s top rights award. Previous winners include Nobel Peace Prize laureates Aung San Suu Kyi and Nelson Mandela.
