The European parliament on Thursday awarded its human rights prize to five Arab Spring activists, including the Tunisian man who sparked region-wide uprisings by setting himself on fire. Tunisian fruitseller Mohamed Bouazizi was awarded the Sakharov prize for freedom of thought posthumously, a statement on the parliament's website said.
The other winners of the 50,000 euro ($70,000) prize are Egypt's Asmaa Mahfouz, Libyan dissident Ahmed al-Zubair Ahmed al-Sanusi, Syrian lawyer Razan Zeitouneh and Syrian cartoonist Ali Farzat.
Bouazizi, an unemployed university graduate, set himself on fire on December 17 to protest abuses under the 23-year regime of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. He died two weeks later. His protest against "incessant humiliation and badgering by the Tunisian authorities" led to Ben Ali's downfall and "sparked uprisings and vital changes in other Arab countries," the parliament statement said. His brother Salem Bouazizi dedicated the prize to all Tunisian people.
"I am very happy, I offer this prize to the Tunisian people who succeeded in this revolution," he said, speaking from Tunisia. "This prize shows international recognition for Mohamed Bouazizi's role in the Tunisian revolution," he added. Egypt's Mahfouz helped organise strikes and protests against Hosni Mubarak's regime. "Her YouTube videos, Facebook and Twitter posts helped motivate Egyptians to demand their rights in the Tahrir Square" the statement said, referring to the Cairo square where protesters camped, demanding Mubarak's resignation. Libyan dissident Sanusi, 77, spent 31 years in prison after trying to organise a coup against Maummar Qadhafi and is now working with the country's new rulers.
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