The European Parliament has awarded its Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought and expression to two women from Iraq's Yazidi community who suffered attack and persecution by Islamic State, according to the Liberals group in the parliament.



The women, Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar, were among thousands of women and girls abducted and held as sexual slaves by Islamic State fighters, who rounded up the Yazidi community in their village in northern Iraq in summer 2014.



Murad has also promoted recognition of the massacre of many Yazidis as genocide.



The announcement of the annual prize was due to take place in the parliament at 1200 CET (1000 GMT), but the ALDE group of liberal lawmakers issued an email ahead of that time.