They Defend our Freedoms - 30 years of the Sakharov prize is a documentary project profiling four human rights activists from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Ethiopia, and Tunisia. Each presented through the lens of a photographer from the internationally renowned agency Magnum Photos, with offices in London, Paris, and New York, the exhibition provides an immersive journey into the daily lives of these unsung heroes.

The exhibition, now at Parliament in Valletta, has toured major European cities, including London, Vienna, Milan, and Geneva. Now, the work of these four photographers is in Valletta, the European Capital of Culture 2018, where it will be on display till 25 November 2018.

This is the result of a joint collaboration between the European Parliament Office in Malta and the Parliament of Malta. The exhibition is marking 30 years of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The prize is awarded annually, by the European Parliament, to individuals and organisations, for their exceptional contribution to the promotion of human rights.

This year's winner of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, sentenced to 20 years in prison for "plotting terrorist acts" against the Russian "de facto" rule in Crimea. The 2018 Sakharov Prize will be awarded by the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 12 December. The other 2018 finalists - the NGOs protecting human rights and saving migrant lives across the Mediterranean Sea, and Nasser Zefzafi, the leader of Hirak, a mass protest movement in the Rif region in Morocco - will also be invited to the award ceremony.

Entrance to the Sakharov Prize 30th Anniversary exhibition in Malta is free of charge. Presentation of ID documentation is required for access to the venue.

More at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sakharovprize/en/home/30-years.html

Photos: Luke Zerafa