The European Parliament have announced the award of the Andrei Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought (commonly known as the Sakharov Prize) to the Belarusian democratic opposition, represented by a group of 10 people including the following courageous women - Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Maria Kolesnikova, Veronika Tsepkalo, Svetlana Aleksievich and Olga Kovalkova. This prize has been given since 1988 to people or public organisations that have made an exceptional contribution to the protection of human right and fundamental freedoms.