Mahsa Amini, the Kurdish-Iranian Woman Who Died in Police Custody, is Awarded EU Human Rights Prize

People attend a protest rally in Rome, Italy, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023 to mark the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police. (Mauro Scrobogna/LaPresse via AP)
People attend a protest rally in Rome, Italy, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023 to mark the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police. (Mauro Scrobogna/LaPresse via AP)
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Mahsa Amini, the Kurdish-Iranian Woman Who Died in Police Custody, is Awarded EU Human Rights Prize

People attend a protest rally in Rome, Italy, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023 to mark the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police. (Mauro Scrobogna/LaPresse via AP)
People attend a protest rally in Rome, Italy, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023 to mark the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police. (Mauro Scrobogna/LaPresse via AP)

Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in police custody in Iran last year, sparking worldwide protests against the country’s conservative theocracy, was awarded the European Union’s top human rights prize on Thursday.
The EU award, named for Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, was created in 1988 to honor individuals or groups who defend human rights and fundamental freedoms. Sakharov, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, died in 1989, The Associated Press said.
Other finalists this year included Vilma Nunez de Escorcia and Roman Catholic Bishop Rolando Álvarez — two emblematic figures in the fight for the defense of human rights in Nicaragua — and a trio of women from Poland, El Salvador and the United States leading a fight for “free, safe and legal abortion.



Prince William and Kate Mark Wedding Anniversary in Scotland

William and Catherine met while studying at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and married at London's Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011. (Reuters)
William and Catherine met while studying at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and married at London's Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011. (Reuters)
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Prince William and Kate Mark Wedding Anniversary in Scotland

William and Catherine met while studying at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and married at London's Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011. (Reuters)
William and Catherine met while studying at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and married at London's Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011. (Reuters)

Prince William and wife Catherine will celebrate their 14th wedding anniversary on the Scottish island of Mull on Tuesday, the latest step on the princess's road to recovery from cancer.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, revealed in January she was "in remission", having announced last March she had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of the disease and was undergoing chemotherapy.

She has since returned to frontline public duties, but with a slimmed-down schedule and shorter engagements.

The couple will spend two days touring the western Scottish islands of Mull and Iona, where they will "celebrate and connect with rural island communities", according to their Kensington Palace office.

They will celebrate their anniversary on Mull, the fourth-largest island in Scotland, which has a population of around 3,000 people and is known for its fishing and farming communities.

William and Catherine met while studying at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and married at London's Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011, in a ceremony watched by tens of millions around the world.

Since then, the royal family has undergone a tumultuous decade in which Queen Elizabeth II died after a record-breaking 70-year reign and William's father, King Charles III, ascended to the throne.

Charles revealed last year he had been diagnosed with cancer, and is still receiving weekly treatment.

William's brother Harry also dropped a bombshell when he announced in 2020 that he was quitting the family. He now lives in the United States with wife Meghan.

All of which drama should be a long way from the tranquility of rural Scotland, where the royal couple will arrive on Tuesday for a two-day trip.

William and Catherine will spend time with members of the local communities "reflecting on the power of social connection and the importance of protecting and championing the natural environment" -- two subjects close to both their hearts, said Kensington Palace.

On arrival, they will visit an artisan market in the Mull town of Tobermory, meeting some of the island's makers and creators before heading to a local croft to learn about sustainable farming and hospitality.

On the second day, the couple will visit an ancient woodland and join a local school group for an outdoor lesson.

They will round the trip off by taking a public ferry to Mull's tiny neighbor Iona, which has a population of around 170 people but receives around 130,000 visitors a year.