Mahsa Amini, Iran's Women-Led Protest Movement Shortlisted For Sakharov Prize

Mahsa Amini and the Women, Life, Freedom protest movement in Iran that was sparked by the death of the 22-year-old are among the finalists for this year's Sakharov Prize, the European Parliament’s top rights award.

The selection was “in recognition of their brave effort to stand up for women’s rights,” David McAllister, the chair of the foreign affairs committee at the EU Parliament, said on October 12.

Amini died in Tehran in September 2022 while in police custody, three days after she was arrested for an alleged hijab infraction. 

Her death triggered protests that spread across the country and rapidly escalated into calls for the overthrow of Iran’s four-decade-old Islamic theocracy.

Authorities responded with a brutal crackdown in which more than 500 people were killed and over 22,000 others were unlawfully detained, according to activists. 

The other shortlisted nominees for the 2023 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought include two rights activists from Nicaragua and a trio of women who have fought for abortion rights in Poland, El Salvador and the United States.

The winner will be announced on October 19.