This year’s Sakharov Prize has been awarded to imprisoned journalists, with a clear message from the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, that democracy cannot be silenced.
The prize was awarded on Tuesday in a packed chamber of the European Parliament to the detained journalists Andrzej Poczobut from Belarus and Mzia Amaglobeli from Georgia. The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2025 was granted in recognition of their brave and tireless fight for democracy.
In her address, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, stressed that European democracy is founded on freedom of thought and expression. In these uncertain times, she said, we must remain proud and unwavering in this truth. She noted that blood has been shed for these European values, that we know how priceless they are, and that they will never be surrendered.
She referred to free and independent media as a fundamental pillar for putting these values into practice. This year’s prize, she said, is awarded to two journalists who risk everything to expose injustice and to resist anti democratic practices in their own countries.
Andrzej Poczobut has devoted years to exposing the oppressive regime of the dictator Lukashenko and to defending the Polish minority in Belarus. He has been imprisoned since March 2021, during which time he has endured isolation and denial of medical care.
accepted the award on his behalf.
Mzia Amaglobeli has for decades exposed corruption and human rights violations in Georgia. She was arrested last January during pro democracy demonstrations.
Democracy cannot be silenced was the message of the President of the European Parliament, as she expressed her full solidarity with the two laureates and their peoples. This Parliament, Metsola said, will continue to raise its voice for Andrzej, for Mzia and for all those who long for freedom. Not only when the spotlight is on us, as it is today, but every day, because democracy requires constant effort.
Jana Poczobut, daughter of Sakharov Prize 2025 laureate Andrzej Poczobut, accepted the award on his behalf with emotion. She said that for almost five years her family has lived with silence, uncertainty and the absence of a loved one. People can be abducted, she said, but their principles and values cannot. She expressed gratitude to the European Parliament for not forgetting her father and for not forgetting all the other families living with the same unanswered questions.
Irma Dimitradze, journalist and representative of Sakharov Prize 2025 laureate Mzia Amaglobeli, spoke of the authorities in her country, saying that the authoritarian government treats every written article as an attack. The regime may imprison people, she said, but it cannot silence the truth.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought was first awarded in 1988 to Nelson Mandela and Anatoli Marchenko and is the European Union’s highest recognition for action in the field of human rights.