\n<\/p>\n
STRASBOURG, France (AP) \u2014 The European Union’s legislature on Tuesday celebrated the bravery and staunch resistance of Venezuelan<\/a> opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez Urrutia while awarding them the EU\u2019s top human rights honor, the Sakharov Prize.<\/p>\n European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said it was \u201cin recognition of your tireless efforts to restore freedom and democracy in Venezuela and ensure a fair, free and peaceful transition of power \u2014 risking everything for the values that millions of Venezuelans and this parliament hold so dear.\u201d<\/p>\n Machado was set to run against the incumbent president, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, in Venezuela\u2019s election<\/a> this year, but the government disqualified her. Gonz\u00e1lez took her place. He had never run for office before.<\/p>\n See for yourself \u2014 The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The lead-up to the election 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 Gonz\u00e1lez, who moved to Spain and was granted asylum.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are facing a regime which has seriously undermined human rights democratic institutions and the system of freedom,\u201d Gonz\u00e1lez told the EU legislators.<\/p>\nTrusted news and daily delights, right in your inbox<\/h4>\n