Iranian dissidents win EU's Sakharov Prize

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STRASBOURG, France, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- European Parliament President Martin Schulz announced Friday that two Iranian dissidents were the winners of a 2012 award for freedom of thought.

Schulz said Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and film director Jafar Panahi were this year's recipients of the 2012 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

"The award ... is a message of solidarity and recognition to a woman and a man who have not been bowed by fear and intimidation and who have decided to put the fate of their country before their own," Schulz said in a statement.

Sotoudeh was described as a human rights advocate who represented opposition leaders detained after Iran's disputed 2009 presidential elections. She's been held in solitary confinement since 2010 on charges of conspiring against the state.

Panahi won the Camera d'Or Award at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival for "The White Balloon," which highlights hardships for women and children in Iran. He was sentenced to six years in prison for ignoring state censors.

The award includes a $64,000 prize. Schulz said the awards will be presented before the European Parliament in December.

"I sincerely hope they will be able to come in person to Strasbourg to the European Parliament to collect their prize in December," he said.