Iran's Mahsa Amini honoured with EU’s top human rights prize

Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman whose death in police custody sparked a wave of women’s rights protests in Iran, has been awarded the European Union’s top human rights prize.

Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman whose death in police custody sparked a wave of women’s rights protests in Iran, has been awarded the European Union’s top human rights prize.

Amini, along with Iran’s Women, Life and Freedom movement that emerged in a months-long street protest campaign following her death, received the EU’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced on Thursday, honouring them for their defence of “human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

Announcing the prize, Metsola said Amini had triggered a “historic” women-led movement in the country and hoped the award would “serve as a tribute to the brave and defiant women, men and young people of Iran” pushing for change.

“The world has heard the chants of ‘Women, Life, Liberty.’ Three words that have become a rallying cry for all those standing up for equality, for dignity and for freedom in Iran,” Metsola said.