Jailed journalists in Belarus and Georgia, students in Serbia and aid workers and reporters in Gaza are vying for the top EU rights prize to be awarded by the European Parliament Wednesday.

The Sakharov Prize, set up in 1988 and named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, is bestowed annually on individuals or organisations to recognise their fight for human rights or democracy.

Three groups of finalists are in the running this year: jailed Georgian journalist and editor Mzia Amaghlobeli and Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut; humanitarian workers and journalists in Gaza; and a Serbian student movement that has shaken the country for nearly a year.

Parliament’s political groups as well as individual lawmakers can nominate contenders for the prize, which comes with a 50,000-

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