Iranian authorities have seized the prestigious Sakharov Prize that was awarded by the European Parliament to honor Mahsa Amini, whose September 2022 death in custody sparked nationwide anti-government protests and who came to symbolize battle for human rights for Iranian women.
The Norway-based Human rights organization Hengaw and the France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network on December 23 said the award was confiscated by security forces at the Tehran airport as the Amini family attorney, Saleh Nikbakht, was returning to the country with the award, which he had planned to hand over to the family.
The Iranian government did not immediately comment on the reports of the seizure of the award.
The prize, which was set up in 1980 to honor individuals and organizations promoting human rights and basic freedoms, includes a 50,000 euro ($54,000) prize.
“The European Parliament proudly stands with the brave and defiant who continue to fight for equality, dignity, and freedom in Iran,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said at the time, adding that the award “remembers their struggle and continues to honor all those who have paid the ultimate price for liberty.”
The European Parliament had invited the Amini family to participate in the ceremony.
But on December 8, Amini’s mother, father, and brother were told at Tehran’s Iman Khomeini Airport that they had been barred from travelling abroad for the December 13 ceremony in Strasbourg, France.
Nikbakht was able to leave through the exit gate to travel to France to accept the award.
At the Sakharov Prize ceremony, Nikbakht read a message from Mojgan Eftekhari, Mahsa Amini's mother, to the audience.
Nikbakht himself on October 18 was sentenced to one year in prison and to a supplementary sentence on charges of "propaganda against the state" in events linked to interviews with foreign media outlets. He had been given notice to turn himself in to begin his sentence, according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network.
Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, died in custody on September 16, 2022, shortly after being detained by the so-called “morality police” for allegedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress code. Supporters say she was subjected to physical abuse while in custody.
Iranian authorities launched a brutal crackdown against mass demonstrations that were sparked by Amini’s death and which became one of the most daunting challenges faced by the Islamist government since Iran’s 1979 revolution.
In October 2022, Amini’s family reported receiving death threats aimed at preventing them from participating in the peaceful protests.