Belarus opposition leader awarded top EU human rights prize

In Belarus the main opposition leader, Aleksandr Milinkevich, has been awarded the Sakharov prize – the EU's top human rights award – for his fight for democracy in the CIS republic.

The prize bears Andrey Sakharov's name. He was an eminent  nuclear physicist and one of the best-known dissidents in the last years of the Soviet regime. It is awarded annually by the EU assembly to a person or group judged to have made a considerable contribution in the field of human rights, international co-operation, and defence of democracy.

The award comes with a € 50,000 cheque, and Milinkevich has already promised to donate the money to Belorussians who, he thinks, suffered for their political ideals.