Parliament awarded Sakharov Prize 2025 to Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaglobeli

Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola said: “I am proud to award this year’s Sakharov Prize to journalists Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaglobeli in recognition of their courageous struggle for freedom of expression and the democratic future of Belarus and Georgia, and to express our solidarity with Mzia Amaglobeli and Andrzej Poczobut, who are in prison in Belarus and Georgia. We stand in solidarity with Mzia and Andrzej and call for their immediate release, because speaking truth to power should never be a crime”.

President Metsola with representatives of the Sakharov Prize 2025 laureates © European Union, 2025 – EP

Andrzej Poczobut, jailed journalist in Belarus

Andrzej Poczobut, journalist, essayist, blogger and member of the Polish minority in Belarus, was represented by his daughter, Jana Poczobut, who told MEPs: “It is a great honour to be here today and to accept this award on behalf of my father. [My family has been living with silence, uncertainty and the absence of a loved one for almost five years. And today I want to express my deepest thanks to the European Parliament for remembering him, and for remembering all the families who live with the same unanswered questions.

Then, referring to the case of Mikalai Statkevich, a prominent member of the Belarusian opposition who has been missing since September 2025, she added: “When we say (their) names out loud, they cease to be statistics. They become flesh and blood people again. And that is why your attention, the attention of the European Parliament, is so important. It preserves human dignity where everything else is trying to erase it.

Parliament has adopted several resolutions condemning the repression in Belarus, demanding the release of political prisoners (estimated at over 1200), denouncing President Lukashenko’s complicity with Russia in the war against Ukraine, calling for tougher sanctions and demanding more support for Belarusian democratic forces, independent media and human rights defenders. Parliament is a strong supporter of the democratic opposition in Belarus, to which it awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2020. In March 2023, it adopted a resolution on the case of Andrzej Poczobut.

Mzia Amaglobeli, journalist imprisoned in Georgia

Mzia Amaglobeli, Georgian journalist, co-founder and director of the independent media Batumelebi and Netgazeti, was represented by fellow journalist Irma Dimigtadze, who also works for Batumelebi and who read out a speech by Amaglobeli to MEPs: “I accept (this award) on behalf of my colleagues, the journalists who are now fighting in Georgia to save journalism as such. They work tirelessly to ensure that the voice of resistance of the citizens of Georgia is heard and that the truth is not silenced”.

Referring to the authorities in her home country, Mzia Amaglobeli writes: “This regime is ruthless (…). It destroys free journalism, suppresses opposition political parties and imprisons their leaders, dismantles non-governmental organisations, labels those who work in them as ‘foreign agents’ (…). However, it has not succeeded in silencing the protests. Perhaps that is why the European Union’s statements in support of the Georgian people have been stronger and more precise than ever. And for this, I am deeply grateful”.

Referring to the Georgian people’s aspirations for EU membership, she concludes by stressing: “The fate of our struggle does not depend on us alone, because our struggle is not about us alone. (…) Fight with us and for us. Fight as you would fight for the freedom of your own countries. Use all the mechanisms at your disposal and do it before it is too late”.

On Georgia, a candidate for EU membership from 2023, MEPs strongly condemned the serious regression of democracy in the country and denounced repressive laws (such as the “foreign agents” law), attacks on freedom of speech and press and the repression of peaceful protests.

They have also demanded a rerun of the October 2024 elections, which the ruling Georgian Dream party declared itself the winner. They have denounced Russian influence in the country and demanded the release of detainees. However, the European Parliament advocates maintaining the prospect of accession, provided that reforms are carried out and the rule of law is respected, and calls for personal sanctions to be imposed on the instigators of the violence.

In June 2025, the Parliament adopted a resolution on press freedom in Georgia and the specific case of Mzia Amaglobeli.

Background

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after the Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov, is the EU’s highest award in the field of human rights. The European Parliament has been awarding this annual prize since 1988 to individuals, groups or organisations in recognition of their work in defence of human rights, freedom of expression and democratic values. The prize is worth ¤50 000.

Several journalists, media and press freedom organisations have received this award, such as the NGO Reporters Without Borders in 2005, the Belarusian Association of Journalists in 2004, the Algerian journalist and writer Salima Ghezali in 1997 or the popular newspaper Oslobodenje in 1993 for promoting a multi-ethnic vision of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Parliament also demonstrates its unwavering support for investigative journalism and the importance of press freedom by awarding the annual Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism in honour of the Maltese journalist who was murdered in 2017.

The Parliament’s Sakharov Prize website includes a list of all previous winners and more information. A recording of the ceremony is available on Parliament’s Media Centre.

More information: European Parliament