Three Belarusian political prisoners shortlisted for Sakharov Prize

The European Parliament is expected to announce the winner today.

Ales Bialiatski, Eduard Lobau and Mikalai Statkevich are among shortlisted candidates.

Other finalists are former CIA employee Edward Snowden and 15-year-old Pakistani campaigner for women's rights Malala Yousafzai, who was shot and seriously wounded by Taliban gunmen in 2012.

The shortlisted finalists for the Andrei Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2013 were selected by the EP Foreign Affairs and Development committees and the Subcommittee on Human Rights at a meeting on Monday.

The laureate will be announced today by Parliament's Conference of Presidents in Strasbourg and invited to the award ceremony on 20 November, also in Strasbourg.