Malala, Snowden nominated for EU Parliament's human rights prize

The European Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Development committees and the Human Rights Subcommittee Monday nominated Malala Yousafzai (Pakistan), and Edward Snowden (US), among the seven candidates for its 2013 prize for freedom of thought. Yousafzai was 11 years old when she began her fight for the right to female education, freedom and self-determination in Pakistan's Swat Valley. She quickly became a prominent voice for the cause of women's rights, and the Taliban gunmen tried to assassinate here in October 2012. She has since become symbol of the fight for women's rights and worldwide access to education. Edward Snowden is a computer expert who worked as a contractor for the US National Security Agency and released classified information about mass surveillance programmes. Snowden has been charged with espionage in the US and is now living in temporary asylum in Russia. The other nominations are jailed Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu and Eskinder Nega, Ales Bialatski, Eduard Lobau and Mykola Statkevich, representing all Belarusian political prisoners, Russian political prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the "Standing Man" protesters (Turkey), and the CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern - Day Slavery (US). The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought - named after the late Russian physicist - is awarded annually by the European Parliament to honour individuals or organisations for their efforts on behalf of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Foreign Affairs and Development Committees and Human Rights Subcommittee will hold another joint meeting on 30 September to vote on the shortlist of the three finalists. The winner of the 50,000 euro prize will be chosen by the Parliament on 10 October and invited to the award ceremony on 20 November