The International Criminal Court wins the Sakharov Prize for the defence of freedom of thought
The European Parliament recognises the role of the International Criminal Court as a symbol of resistance against wars and human rights violations
The International Criminal Court and its judges have been awarded the 2026 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. This has been reported by several parliamentary sources on the sidelines of the Conference of Presidents, which elected the winner this morning in Strasbourg.
The organisation targeted by Trump’s sanctions
The organisation, based in The Hague, which has been hit by sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump, was the candidate selected by the Socialist Group in the European Parliament as a “symbol of resistance against the US administration’s wars”. The other candidates, including the Tanzanian human rights defender Tundu Lissu (of the EPP and ECR), were rejected.
Socialists celebrate in the European Parliament
The announcement by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, was met with applause and a standing ovation from the Socialists in the European Parliament. “We recognise the important work carried out by the International Criminal Court,” Metsola declared in plenary. The ICC prevailed over the other two candidates: Tundu Lissu, a lawyer and human rights defender from Tanzania, put forward by the EPP and the Conservatives and Reformists; and the Iranian activists Taraneh and Romina Rahimi, nominated by the Patriots group.
According to several parliamentary sources present at the Conference of Presidents, ‘all the political groups are said to have voted for their own candidate, apart from the Patriots, who rejected all the nominees’. ‘Having failed to secure the prize for the EPP candidate, the CPI was the group that garnered the most support’, backed not only by the Socialists but also by the Liberals and the Greens.
