BRUSSELS (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia have won the European Union’s top human rights honor, the Sakharov Prize, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced Thursday.
Machado was set to run as the democratic opposition candidate against the incumbent president, Nicolás Maduro, in Venezuela’s contested 2024 election, but she was disqualified by the government, so González took her place. He had never run for office before the presidential election.
The lead-up to the poll saw widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests, and human rights violations. Machado went into hiding, fearing for her life. A Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant for González, who moved to Spain and was granted asylum.
“In their quest for a fair, free and peaceful transition of power, they have fearlessly upheld values that millions of Venezuelans and the European Parliament hold so dear: justice, democracy and the rule of law,” Metsola told EU lawmakers.
“This parliament stands with the people of Venezeula and with Maria and Edmundo in their struggle for the democratic future of their country,” she said, adding: “We are confident that Venezeula and democracy will ultimately prevail.”
Machado’s group maintains that it has evidence that González won the July 28 presidential election by a wide margin, despite Maduro's claim to have won.
Maduro’s victory was contested by independent observers, including the United Nations. In a resolution last month, the EU parliament recognized González as Venezuela’s legitimate president.
In a post on X, González said that he was “honored and grateful” for the award.
He thanked Machado, describing her as “an exceptional person who, with all her political talent, her absolute dedication and her indomitable spirit, paved the way that we are currently following, keeping the flame of freedom alive in our country.”
González also expressed his “gratitude, pride and admiration for my Venezuelan compatriots, who with the utmost civility, courage and determination have for years confronted, and continue to confront, a regime that systematically violates human rights.”
But he warned that “the struggle is not over. The regime persists in blocking political change, committing more and more human rights violations and crimes against humanity,” and he urged supporters of democracy everywhere to help “enforce the sovereign mandate of the Venezuelan people.”
The EU award, named after Soviet dissident Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov, was created in 1988 to honor individuals or groups who defend human rights and basic freedoms.
The winner is chosen by senior EU lawmakers from among candidates nominated by the European Parliament’s various political groups. The assembly says the award is “the highest tribute paid by the European Union to human rights work.”
Two Middle East grassroots groups – Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun – were on the shortlist for their efforts to bridge the divide between Israelis and Palestinians, as was Azerbaijan academic and anti-corruption activist Gubad Ibadoghlu.
Several laureates, including Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad, went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
The annual award, with its 50,000-euro ($54,000) endowment, will be presented in a ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, in mid-December.
A demonstrator holds a sign that reads in Spanish "Together against torture" outside the Penitentiary Service headquarters during a protest by people with detained relatives who they call political prisoners in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
FILE - Opposition presidential hopeful Maria Corina Machado gives a press conference at her campaign headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela, Dec. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado takes a selfie with opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, right, during a protest against official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner in Caracas, Venezuela, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez, File)
PARIS (AP) — Tennis players at the French Open say they haven’t experienced conditions this hot at Roland Garros since the Paris Olympics.
And the 2024 Olympics were held in July and August.
Temperatures for the opening two days of the clay-court Grand Slam have soared to 33 degrees C (91 F) — far beyond normal for late May in the French capital. And it’s forecast to stay that way for the entire first week.
Besides making it uncomfortable for fans and players alike, the sultry conditions have also created faster conditions on court — changing the pace of the game.
“It is much different. Maybe it was that hot in the Olympics but the balls were different, so I wouldn’t treat it as the same tournament,” four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek said after routing Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-2 in the first round on Monday.
Players have been putting bags of ice around their necks on changeovers to stay cool, while fans are refreshing themselves under sprinklers.
When workers water the clay courts between sets, they have taken to directing their hoses at spectators begging to be doused, too.
“I don’t remember the last time it was so hot at Roland Garros,” Russian-born Australian player Daria Kasatkina said after beating Zeynep Sonmez 6-4, 6-4. “Maybe one day. But we’re going to have it for the whole week.”
Kasatkina said the energy-sapping temperatures made for more up-and-down matches.
“You can suddenly just get out of the bench and feel that your focus dropped,” she said. “So this is a battle which you have to also win. … Whoever adapts better to today’s conditions gets it.”
Canadian player Gabriel Diallo said the heat was the main reason why he retired midway through his match against James Duckworth on Sunday.
Both Andrey Rublev and opponent Ignacio Buse called for the trainer on separate occasions during the second set of their match on Monday.
Buse took a medical timeout and had salts and minerals added to his water bottle as a stethoscope was placed on his chest. Rublev received treatment a few games later.
The French Open is usually cool compared to the heat at the Australian Open and U.S. Open.
But like in Australia and New York, the French Open has adopted an extreme weather policy.
If the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) — which takes into account temperature, humidity, sun, wind and other factors — reaches 30.1 degrees C (86 F) or higher, 10-minute cooling breaks can be installed between the second and third sets for women’s matches and between the third and fourth sets for men’s matches.
If the WBGT hits 32.2 C (90 F), play is suspended. It would require an air temperature of about 38 C (100 F) for play to be suspended.
Some players were embracing the hotter air.
“I’ve always preferred hot and lively conditions to chilly on a clay court, because I feel like I can bring a little bit more of my all-court tennis on this type of surface,” Australian player Alex de Minaur said after beating Toby Samuel 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
“It’s easier to be a little bit more aggressive. The ball is jumping. I don’t necessarily have to use as much spin or heaviness, and I can let the conditions do the job for me. And it’s quite physical. I don’t mind the heat,” De Minaur added.
Same goes for American player Alex Michelsen, who eliminated Alexander Shevchenko in straight sets.
“It’s definitely good for us Americans,” Michelsen said. “Generally we’re big serve, big forehand, big ground game and like to play offense. When it’s super hot, the ball is moving through the air very fast. … I was so happy when I saw the forecast.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
A stadium worker sprays the court with water before the first round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Visitors cool themselves with water from sprinklers during a hot day at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
A woman cools herself with a portable fan during the first round men's singles tennis match between Alex De Minaur of Australia and Toby Samuel of Britain at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Spectators cool themselves with hand fans during the first round women's singles tennis match between Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and Anna Bondar of Hungary at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Poland's Iga Swiatek gestures for a ballboy as he shields her from the sun during a break at the first round women's singles tennis match against Emerson Jones of Australia at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Visitors cool themselves with water from sprinklers during a hot day at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Alex De Minaur of Australia attends a break during the first round men's singles tennis match against Toby Samuel of Britain at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
