ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul is nominated for the European Union's Sakharov prize for his successful efforts to save Christians and hundreds of historical documents from the Islamic State (ISIS) in Mosul during the group's takeover of the northern Iraqi city. The European parliament awards the prize every year to honour individuals and organizations defending human rights. It is named for Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov. Archbishop Najeeb Moussa Michaeel is a one of five nominees. "When the Islamic State arrived in Mosul in August 2014, Mgr Najeeb Moussa Michaeel, Archbishop of Mosul, ensured the evacuation of Christians, Syriacs and Chaldeans to Iraqi Kurdistan and safeguarded more than 800 historic manuscripts dating from the 13th to the 19th century," read a statement from the European Parliament. "These manuscripts were later digitized and exhibited in France and Italy. Since 1990 he has contributed to safeguarding 8,000 more manuscripts and 35,000 documents from the Eastern Church," the statement adds. "I was surprised by this happy news," the archbishop told Rudaw TV on Saturday. If he wins, “the prize will be for all of Iraq and also for Kurdistan and the Iraqi people." He says he has a strong love for preserving heritage and historical documents. "We care about people and we also care about heritage, because heritage is part of the roots of every human being, and a people without heritage and without history is a dead people," he said. "This history has no boundaries, and whatever these precious manuscripts and books are, they represent a history which ISIS wanted to burn," he said. "Unfortunately, many manuscripts and books were burned and destroyed" by ISIS. "Before we protect ourselves, we must protect our heritage and our roots," he said. The winner will be announced on October 22 and the prize will be awarded on December 16 in a ceremony in Strasbourg. Last year, the Sakharov prize was awarded to Ilham Tohti, a Uyghur economist fighting for the rights of China’s Muslim minority. Yezidi activist Nadia Murad received the prize in 2016 jointly with Lamiya Aji Ashar. They both survived ISIS enslavement.
