Summary: 24 September 2007, Brussels - The three finalists for this year's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought are: Salih Mahmoud Osman, Anna Politkovskaya, and Zeng Jinyan and Hu Jia. They were chosen on Monday evening at a joint meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Development Committee. From these three finalists, the EP's political group leaders (the Conference of Presidents) will pick the winner on 25 October. The award ceremony will take place on 11 December, in Strasbourg.
The three finalists (in alphabetical order)for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought :
Salih Mahmoud Osman, Sudanese human rights attorney.
Mr Osman works with the Sudan Organisation Against Torture, providing free legal representation for the many victims of Sudan's civil war and human rights abuses.
Anna Politkovskaya (deceased), Russian journalist and human rights activist.
Mrs Politkovskaya, who was known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict, was shot dead on 7 October 2006.
Zeng Jinyan and Hu Jia, Chinese human rights defenders.
Mrs Zeng Jinyan is a cyber-dissident reporting examples of human rights abuses in China on her daily blog. Her husband, Hu Jia, is an AIDS and environmental activist.
The Sakharov Prize - named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov - has been awarded by the EP each year since 1988 to individuals or organisations who have made an important contribution to the fight for human rights or democracy. In addition to the title, the winner receives the sum of €50,000.
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