## Venezuela’s Opposition Leader Leopoldo López awarded #Sacharov Prize 2023 EU lawmakers have decided to award this year's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to “Venezuelans – the courageous opposition figures, and in particular Leopoldo López Gil and Juan Guaidó Márquez, and all the brave men and women arrested and detained for their fight for freedom and democracy in Venezuela.” The Sakharov Prize is awarded by the European Union to human rights activists, dissidents, and non-governmental organizations around the world. Every year, the European Parliament grants the Sakharov Prize to honour individuals or organizations that defend human rights and fundamental freedoms. The prize is named after Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov. López is a Venezuelan opposition leader who has been detained since 2014. He was convicted of inciting violence during anti-government protests. Guaidó, a Venezuelan opposition leader and former president of the National Assembly, is recognized by some countries, including the United States, as the legitimate interim president of Venezuela.
