Êzidî Kurdish women Lamiya Bashar and Nadiya Murad, who have escaped ISIS cruelty, received the European Parliament’s Sakharov for Freedom of Thought given to commemorate Soviet scientist Andrey Sakharov since 1988. The 18 year old Lamiya Bashar spoke during the award ceremony in Strasbourg and said “I am here to be the voice of the victims” as she demanded that ISIS cruelty is not allowed to continue.

Lamiya Bashar and Nadiya Murad had been taken hostage by ISIS during the gang groups’ genocidal attacks on Shengal on August 3, 2014, and were forced into slavery. Lamiya Bashar suffered from ISIS cruelty for a year and a half, and was brought to Germany for treatment after she managed to escape in April, 2016.

Nadiya Murad experienced the same cruelty until Kurdish forces rescued her from ISIS gangs in November, 2014. Murad had recently been chosed as the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.