GUE/NGL is pleased to announce its nominations for the European Parliament’s 2019 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought – three symbols of resistance against the violations of human rights in Brazil.

They are Marielle Franco (posthumous), Claudelice Silva dos Santos and Chief Raoni.

1) Marielle Franco

She was a political activist and human rights defenders who was brutally killed on 14 March 2018.

Marielle was a black bisexual woman born in a favela, known for defending the human rights of young black people, women, favela residents and LGBTI people.

She also frequently reported extrajudicial executions and other human rights violations committed by police officers and state security forces. Shortly before she was killed, Marielle was appointed to monitor the federal intervention into public security in Rio de Janeiro.

Her case remains in impunity.

2) Claudelice Silva dos Santos

A human rights and environment defender, she is known for her stance against illegal lumberers, ranchers and coal producers operating in the Praia-Alta Piranheira region, a remote Amazon settlement in the state Brazilian from Pará, where she lived before the murder of her brother and sister-in-law.

Her brother, José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and his wife, Maria do Espírito Santo – both rainforest activists – were killed in May 2011, six months after Ribeiro da Silva announced during an international environmental conference that he could be killed at any time.

3) Chief Raoni

An emblematic figure of the fight against deforestation in the Amazon, he is one of the great leaders of the Kayapo people in the heart of the Amazon. He is around 90 years old and has dedicated his life to the fight for indigenous rights and the preservation of the Amazon

The winner(s) of the Sakharov will be announced on 24th October in Strasbourg and the ceremony will take place in December.