EU Human Rights Award
October 25, 2007
An opposition member of the Sudanese parliament who also works for the Sudan Organization Against Torture, Osman has provided free legal representation for victims of the civil war and human rights abuses in Sudan's Darfur region for over 20 years.
Experts estimate that around 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced by the violence in Darfur since mostly non-Arab rebels began a war against the Sudanese government in early 2003, accusing it of neglect. The Sudanese government puts the death toll at 9,000 and says the West exaggerates the conflict.
"The European Parliament wants to recognize the very important work of this very courageous man, who has made his voice heard to make sure the rule of law is being supported in Sudan," the president of the parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, said in announcing the prize, adding that the choice had been unanimous.
The two other finalists for the prize were murdered anti-Kremlin journalist Anna Politkovskaya and Chinese activists Hu Jia and Zeng Jinyan who were detained by Chinese police in April.
Osman risked his own life for others
"Over two decades during Sudan's various civil wars, Salih Mahmoud Osman has risked his own life to provide legal and medical aid to the countless victims of the conflict," a statement on the European Parliament's Web site read. "His fight against injustice has had a personal cost; members of his family have been killed and tortured."
Osman himself was imprisoned by the Sudanese government for over seven months in 2004 without a charge or a trial.
He was also awarded Human Rights Watch's highest honor for his work in Sudan in November 2005.
The Sakharov Prize, named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, has been awarded by the European parliament annually since 1988 to individuals or organizations who "have made an important contribution to the fight for human rights or democracy".
Global luminaries make up list of previous winners
The winner receives 50,000 euros ($71,000) and previous laureates include former South African leader Nelson Mandela, Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and ex-UN secretary general Kofi Annan. Last year's winner was Belarus opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich.
The prizewinner is chosen by the European parliament's president and the heads of political groups in the parliament.
The award ceremony will take place in Strasbourg on Dec. 11.