Iranian authorities have seized the prestigious Sakharov Prize that was awarded by the European Parliament to honor Mahsa Amini, whose September 2022 death in custody sparked nationwide anti-government protests and who came to symbolize battle for human rights for Iranian women.

The Norway-based Human rights organization Hengaw and the France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network on December 23 said the award was confiscated by security forces at the Tehran airport as the Amini family attorney, Saleh Nikbakht, was returning to the country with the award, which he had planned to hand over to the family.

The Iranian government did not immediately comment on the reports of the seizure of the award.

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