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MEPs' 'mindset' questioned after murdered Iraqi academic fails to make Sakharov Prize shortlist while alleged fraudster remains

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Leyla-YunusParliament’s prestige prize for freedom of thought has again come into question after an Iraqi Professor who “paid with his life” defending Christians against the group calling itself Islaminic State was excluded from the shortlist, while accused fraudster Leyla Yunus (pictured) made the cut.
Iraqi Law Professor Mahmoud Al-Asali, a Muslim, was killed this year by ISIS because he stood up for the minority Christian population in his home city of Mosul.
But the vote went along parliamentary factional lines meaning Al-Asali was excluded from the shortlist of three, announced earlier this week.
This prompted one MEP to question the “mindset” behind the decision.
"There was a secret ballot of committee yesterday, and it seemed clear that the Sakharov candidates favoured by the larger groups were always going to fair better than those from the smaller groups,” said UK Independence Party MEP Jim Carver, a member of the foreign affairs committee in the European Parliament.
“As I figured, unsurprisingly, the mind-set of these people failed to understand the significance of the huge sacrifices made."
A spokesman for the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the Parliament, which had nominated Al-Asali, said, "We think it would have sent a powerful signal for a Christian and a Muslim who had defended religious freedom in the Middle East to be awarded this prize, given the ongoing persecution Christians face."
The three finalists are EuroMaidan, the pro-European Ukrainian movement; Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynaecologist specialising in the treatment of rape victims; and Leyla Yunus, the Azerbaijani activist facing fraud charges in her home country.
Yunus’ original nomination has been branded “inappropriate” by one MEP due to the fact it comes amid an unresolved criminal case against her. She has been investigated in her home country over her connection with a string of NGOs from which funds allegedly went missing.
The Azerbaijan government says the case is a long way from being concluded.
This year’s nomination process has been dogged by controversy.
Last week the left wing GUE/NGL Group was forced to hastily withdraw its support for an Egyptian blogger who advocated “killing all Zionists”. Alaa Abdel Fatah, had taken to Twitter to call for the murder of “a number of Jews”.
The Conference of Presidents, or group leaders, will reach a final decision on 16 October and the award ceremony will take place on 26 November in Strasbourg.

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