From BBC News:
One of China’s most prominent human rights activists, Hu Jia, has won the European Parliament’s prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
Mr Hu, a democracy, environment and Aids activist, is serving a jail term for inciting subversion of state power.
The parliament’s president said Mr Hu was “one of the real defenders of human rights” in China, and that the award would support Chinese activists.
An angry Beijing had put pressure on the parliament not to honour Mr Hu.
Read also Sakharov Prize 2008 awarded to Hu Jia from European Parliament, and the Chinese government’s reaction to the announcement, via AFP.
Update: Amnesty International has called on the Chinese government to release Hu Jia. See this Bloomberg report.
