Freedom of thought - to Iran

Sakharov’s prize “For Freedom of Thought” went to Iran: the leaders of the European Parliament factions unanimously awarded it to the Iranian director Jafar Panahi and the lawyer and human rights activist Nasrin Sotowesh, who defended the opposition, arrested during mass unrest in 2009-2010. Panahi was shot by the film "White Ribbon", which received the Golden Camera prize in the Cannes Film Festival in 1995. His other tape “This is not a film” was illegally transported to Europe in 2011 on a flash card hidden in a cake. In 2010, the director was sentenced to six years in prison for “damaging the national security of the Islamic Republic”, in addition, the court forbade him to engage in creative activities and leave the country for 20 years. The 20-year ban on the profession and on the exit from Iran also touched Nasrin Sotowed-in 2011 she was sentenced to 11 years in prison of a similar charges. The award ceremony, the monetary reward of which is € 50 thousand, should be held in Strasbourg on December 12, but the laureates, most likely, will not be able to attend it.