Current:Home > StocksThe late Mahsa Amini is named a finalist for the EU’s top human rights prize -Clarity Finance Guides
The late Mahsa Amini is named a finalist for the EU’s top human rights prize
View
Date:2025-04-13 19:20:10
BRUSSELS (AP) — Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in police custody in Iran last year, sparking worldwide protests against the country’s conservative Islamic theocracy, has been named a finalist for the European Union’s top human rights prize.
The European Parliament on Thursday announced the three finalists for this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, including Amini and “the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran.”
The selection was “in recognition of their brave effort to stand up for women’s rights,” said David McAllister, the chair of the foreign affairs committee at the EU Parliament.
Amini died on Sept. 16, 2022, after she was arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s mandatory headscarf law.
The other nominees are Vilma Nunez de Escorcia and Roman Catholic Bishop Rolando Álvarez — two emblematic figures in the fight for the defense of human rights in Nicaragua — and a trio of women from Poland, El Salvador and the United States leading a fight for “free, safe and legal abortion.”
Amini died three days after she was arrested by Iran’s morality police, allegedly for violating laws that require women to cover their hair in public. While authorities said she suffered a heart attack, Amini’s supporters said she was beaten by police and died as a result of her injuries.
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 violent crackdown in which more than 500 people were killed and over 22,000 others were detained, according to rights groups. The demonstrations largely died down early this year, but there are still widespread signs of discontent. For several months, women could be seen openly flaunting the headscarf rule in Tehran and other cities, prompting a renewed crackdown over the summer.
The EU award, named for Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, was created in 1988 to honor individuals or groups who defend human rights and fundamental freedoms. Sakharov, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, died in 1989.
The winner will be announced on Oct. 19.
veryGood! (99)
Related
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- 'A profound desecration': Navajo Nation asks NASA to delay moon mission with human remains
- Michigan lottery group won $150,000 after a night out in the bar
- Joseph Lelyveld, former executive editor of The New York Times, dies at 86
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- Daniel Levy on Netflix's 'Good Grief,' his bad habits and the 'Barbie' role that got away
- Golden Gate Bridge has safety nets to prevent jumping deaths after 87 years
- Soften the blow of student loan repayments with an up to $2,500 tax deduction. Here's how.
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Nebraska bill would add asphyxiation by nitrogen gas as form of execution for death row inmates
Ranking
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- Shia LaBeouf converts to Catholicism, reportedly wants to become a deacon
- Vanessa and Nick Lachey Prove Daughter Brooklyn Is Growing Up Fast on 9th Birthday
- Column: Pac-12 has that rare chance in sports to go out on top
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Abortion initiative hits milestone for getting in front of Florida voters
- The teacher shot by a 6-year-old still worries, a year later, about the other students in the room
- Will Taylor Swift add a Golden Globe statue to sit next to her 12 Grammys?
Recommendation
Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
From Houthis to Hezbollah, a look at the Iran-allied groups rallying to arms around Middle East
How to watch and stream 'The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard' Lifetime special
Mississippi deputy fatally shot during traffic stop by suspect who was killed by police after chase
NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
Wander Franco released while Dominican probe continues into alleged relationship with 14-year-old
UN humanitarian chief calls Gaza ‘uninhabitable’ 3 months into Israel-Hamas war
The Biden administration cuts $2M for student loan servicers after a bungled return to repayment