Overview
- European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said both Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaglobeli are imprisoned on false charges for doing their work.
- Andrzej Poczobut, a Gazeta Wyborcza correspondent, is serving an eight-year sentence in Belarus, with reports of solitary confinement and blocked family visits.
- Mzia Amaglobeli, a founder of independent media in Georgia, received a two-year sentence after a protest incident that rights groups deem politically motivated.
- The selection followed divisions in the chamber, with conservatives backing the pair while left groups promoted a symbolic award for Gaza humanitarian workers and journalists; other nominees included Serbian student protesters and the late U.S. activist Charlie Kirk.
- The announcement in Strasbourg coincided with the fifth anniversary of Belarus’s disputed 2020 election, with opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya present, and the 50,000-euro prize will be formally presented in December.