The Left in the European Parliament has nominated Sultana Khaya for the European Parliament’s 2021 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

As a human rights defender, Sultana’s work focuses on promoting the right to self-determination for the Sahrawi people and working to counter violence against women.

She is president of the ‘League for the Defense of Human Rights and against Plunder of Natural Resources’ and has travelled internationally to inform and spread the word about the human rights situation in Western Sahara.

“Sultana is one of the thousands of Sahrawi people who fight every day for social justice, human rights and dignity and who are therefore brutally persecuted and repressed by the Moroccan regime,” says MEP Miguel Urban (Anticapitalistas, Spain).

“With this nomination, we want to show our solidarity with the Sahrawi people, make visible the situation faced by Sultana and the Sahrawi activists and break the European silence. Freedom for Western Sahara, freedom for the Sahrawi people!”

The winner of the Sakharov Prize will be announced on 21 October with a ceremony taking place on Wednesday 15 December.

Read more about Sultana Khaya here.