Three jailed members of the punk group Pussy Riot were included to the shortlist of the prestigious prize named for Soviet human rights activist Andrei Sakharov.

      Besides Pussy Riot, there are other finalists - two Iranian opposition figures - Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer, and movie director Jafar Panahi, as well as the imprisoned Belarusian human rights defender, Ales Belyatsky.

      The EU's main human rights prize's winner will be announced on October 26, within the European Parliament's group conference. The official awards ceremony will take place on December 12 at the plenary meeting in Strasbourg. The European Parliament nominated Pussy Riot on September 14. Russia's Department of Foreign Affairs considered that initiative as a contempt of court, expressing the opinion that Pussy Riot's activity has nothing to do with freedom of thought.

      The Sakharov Prize, which comes with a 50,000 euro award, is given to individuals and organizations who have made a special contribution to the protection of human rights. It was first presented to Nelson Mandela and Soviet dissident Anatoly Marchenko in 1988.