The Left nominates journalists in Palestine for Sakharov Prize
For the second year running, The Left in the European Parliament has nominated Palestinian journalists for the European Union’s highest honour: the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Of those officially named in the submission to the European Parliament, only two journalists remain alive today.
Occupied Palestine is the single most dangerous place on earth to be a journalist. For years, Palestinian journalists have worked in constant danger of persecution, arrest and death, reporting on the realities of violent occupation. More recently, around 250 journalists have been killed by the IDF during the genocide in Gaza in a coordinated campaign to silence Palestinians. Others have been attacked, injured, detained or have suffered threats, cyberattacks, censorship, and the killing of family members.
For their courage and steadfastness, The Left has named six journalists in particular for the nomination: Hamza & Wael Al-Dahdouh, Plestia Alaqad, Shireen Abu Akleh, and Ain Media (in honour of Yasser Murtaja & Roshdi Sarraj). All but two of those journalists have been killed by the IDF in recent years, while Plestia Alaqad and Wael Al-Dahdouh have been forced to leave Gaza.
The Left stands in full solidarity with Palestinians subject to the genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. The Left continues to call for an arms embargo, wide-ranging sanctions and the complete suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The group has also presented a Motion of Censure against the European Commission, calling for the President and her Cabinet of Commissioners to resign over their abject failure to act in the face of live-streamed genocide.
Following the presentation of candidates by the political groups, the responsible committees will vote on a shortlist of three candidates on 16 October. The laureate will be chosen by the Conference of Presidents, composed of the President of Parliament, Roberta Metsola and the political groups leaders, at the end of October. The award ceremony for the 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought will take place during Parliament’s December plenary session in Strasbourg.
