The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group has welcomed the decision of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Development Committees to include the joint nominees of the ECR and EPP Groups – Andrzej Poczobut from Belarus and Mzia Amaglobeli from Georgia – on the shortlist for the 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

ECR MEP Małgorzata Gosiewska, who nominated Andrzej Poczobut, underlined that this decision pays tribute to the courage of journalists who, despite repression, continue to defend truth and freedom.

Małgorzata Gosiewska said:

“Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaglobeli symbolise the same universal struggle – the determination of free people to speak the truth, even when it comes at the highest personal cost.

Their voices represent not only their nations, but also all those in Europe’s neighbourhood who refuse to live in fear and silence.”

Currently serving an eight-year prison sentence, Andrzej Poczobut was one of the leaders of the Union of Poles in Belarus and a steadfast defender of freedom of expression. Despite years of persecution, he has never renounced his beliefs or requested a pardon from the regime. Mzia Amaglobeli, a Georgian journalist, was detained in early 2025 and later sentenced to two years in prison on politically motivated charges. She is the first woman in Georgia to be imprisoned for political reasons since the country’s independence.

“This is a strong signal that Europe remembers those who fight for freedom – not only their own, but ours as well,” added MEP Gosiewska.

The final laureate of the 2025 Sakharov Prize will be chosen by the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament on 22 October.