(Independent Catholic News) A bishop in Iraq has been nominated for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought for saving more than 800 historic manuscripts from destruction by the terrorist group Daesh (ISIS).
Archbishop Najeeb Michaeel of Mosul, who is one of three finalists on the shortlist for the award, oversaw the evacuation of Christians to Iraqi Kurdistan – and safeguarded manuscripts dating from the 13th to the 19th century – after Daesh took Mosul in June 2014.
The Chaldean Archbishop, who showed the collection of historic documents to an ACN project team visiting Iraq in 2017, described the importance of preserving the Church’s heritage.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, which is awarded by the European Parliament annually, was set up in 1988 to honour individuals and organisations that defend human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is named in honour of the Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov.
Award nominees in previous years include Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako and Asia Bibi, the Christian who was on death row in Pakistan before she was acquitted and started a new life with her family in Canada.
The winner will be announced on 22nd October.
Tej Francis
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