[1] Named after Russian scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, the prize was established in December 1988 by the European Parliament.

[3] The first prize was awarded jointly to South African Nelson Mandela and Russian Anatoly Marchenko.

Six Sakharov laureates were subsequently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize: Aung San Suu Kyi (1991), Nelson Mandela (1993), Malala Yousafzai (2014), Denis Mukwege (2018), Nadia Murad (2018) and Memorial (2022).

[6] Nasrin Sotoudeh (2012) was released from prison in September 2013,[7] but is still barred from leaving Iran, along with fellow 2012 laureate Jafar Panahi.

[8] The 2017 prize was awarded to the Democratic Opposition in Venezuela, under boycott of the European United Left–Nordic Green Left.