The 2025 Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought was awarded to Andrzej Poczobut from Belarus and Mzia Amaghlobeli from Georgia. Both are imprisoned because of their work and their outspoken criticism of authoritarian governments. The European Parliament praised their determination to keep speaking out despite harsh repression.
Poczobut, a journalist and activist of the Polish minority in Belarus, was arrested in 2021 after reporting on mass demonstrations against President Lukashenko. According to human rights organizations, he is held under harsh conditions in a penal colony and receives insufficient medical care.
The Georgian journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli was sentenced in 2025 to two years in prison for participating in anti-government protests. According to the European Parliament, her conviction is politically motivated and part of the broader repression by the ruling Georgian Dream party against independent media and opposition.
During the announcement, Parliament President Roberta Metsola said the two journalists are “a beacon for everyone who refuses to be silenced.” In resolutions, the European Parliament called for their immediate release and for sanctions against the responsible authorities in both countries.
The second honor, the 2025 Daphne Caruana Galizia Journalism Prize, went to the investigative platform Follow the Money. The collective was recognized for uncovering an international network that helps Russia continue its oil exports despite European sanctions.
The award-winning investigation revealed how Western shipping companies earned billions by selling old oil tankers to the Russian shadow fleet. Through complex ownership structures, the trade continued, often without insurance, involving significant risks and moral complicity of European companies.
At the award ceremony in Strasbourg, Metsola said the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize “emphasizes the inseparable link between a free press, democracy, and peace.” She warned that press freedom in Europe must not be taken for granted and must continue to be defended.
During the same session, Belarusian opposition leaders Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Sergey Tikhanovsky addressed the European Parliament. They called on the EU to increase pressure on the regime in Minsk and stressed that the struggle for freedom in Belarus is inseparably connected to that in Ukraine.