Venezuelan opposition leaders receive the European Union’s top human rights honor

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — The European Union’s legislature on Tuesday celebrated the bravery and staunch resistance of Venezuelan opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia while awarding them the EU’s top human rights honor, the Sakharov Prize.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said it was “in recognition of your tireless efforts to restore freedom and democracy in Venezuela and ensure a fair, free and peaceful transition of power — risking everything for the values that millions of Venezuelans and this parliament hold so dear.”

Machado was set to run against the incumbent president, Nicolás Maduro, in Venezuela’s election this year, but the government disqualified her. González took her place. He had never run for office before.

The lead-up to the election saw widespread repression including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations. Machado went into hiding, fearing for her life. A Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant for González, who moved to Spain and was granted asylum.

“We are facing a regime which has seriously undermined human rights democratic institutions and the system of freedom,” González told the EU legislators.

Maduro’s victory was contested by independent observers including the United Nations. In a resolution last month, the EU parliament recognized González as Venezuela’s legitimate president.

The EU award, named after Soviet dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov, was created in 1988 to honor individuals or groups who defend human rights and basic freedoms. The winner is chosen by senior EU lawmakers from among candidates nominated by the European Parliament’s various political groups. The assembly says the award is “the highest tribute paid by the European Union to human rights work.”

Several laureates, including Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad, went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

“This prize carries with it a rich historical legacy,” González said.

The annual award also carries a 50,000-euro ($54,000) endowment.