The European Parliament's Conference of Presidents chose the International Criminal Court for the prize, worth 50,000 euros, with the ceremony set for 16 December in Strasbourg.
Washington announced new sanctions on 9 October against the court's judges and prosecutors, after Navi Pillay, a former ICC judge, received the Nobel Peace Prize in early October.
The Socialists and Democrats group nominated the court before the latest sanctions were known, and its vice-chair Yannis Maniatis said in early October that the group stood by the ICC.
Tundu Lissu, proposed by the EPP and ECR groups, and the 21-year-old Rahimi twin sisters from Iran were the other finalists, with Lissu described as jailed.
The European Parliament has awarded its Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to several parliamentary sources. The decision was taken by the Conference of Presidents, which brings together President Roberta Metsola and the leaders of the political groups. Metsola is due to announce the award formally in Strasbourg on Thursday, 22 October, the last day of the October plenary session. The ceremony will take place on 16 December, again in Strasbourg, during the final plenary of the year. The prize is worth 50,000 euros and honours people or organisations that defend human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is named after the Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov.
The court, based in The Hague, is the target of US sanctions linked to its investigations into genocide in Gaza. Yannis Maniatis, vice-chair of the Socialists and Democrats group, which nominated the court, said in early October that the group stood firm behind it.
“We stand by the ICC and its officials, and we are committed to safeguarding its work.”
Washington announced its new round of sanctions on 9 October, after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in early October to Navi Pillay, a former ICC judge from South Africa. The measures target the court's judges and prosecutors. Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, announced them and said Donald Trump would never allow the court to prosecute Americans. Rubio also said the United States would dismantle the body brick by brick if it did not end its threats. The European Union described the new sanctions as deeply regrettable.
The Socialists and Democrats group had proposed the court before the latest round of sanctions became known. The court was not necessarily the favourite, because another finalist, the Tanzanian opposition leader and human rights activist Tundu Lissu, had been put forward by the European People's Party and the European Conservatives and Reformists group. Lissu is jailed. The third finalists were the Iranian twin sisters Taraneh and Romina Rahimi, aged 21, who were sentenced to death and to a long prison term respectively for taking part in protests against the Tehran government earlier this year.
Parliamentary sources said the award goes to the court and its staff, who are under pressure from US threats. Past Sakharov laureates include Nelson Mandela and Alexei Navalny, according to POLITICO's account of the prize. In 2025 the prize went to the Belarusian journalist and activist Andrzej Poczobut and the Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli. Shortlisted candidates are traditionally invited to the ceremony in Strasbourg, which takes place during the December plenary session.
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The European Parliament's 2026 Sakharov Prize goes to the International Criminal Court, which the United States has sanctioned over its investigations into genocide in Gaza. The ceremony is set for 16 December in Strasbourg.
AI text based on reports by Notícias ao Minuto, EL PAÍS, EL MUNDO and other publishers. Published .