Iran canceled a visit by lawmakers from the European Parliament over the group’s request to meet with the Iranian winners of a European Union human rights prize.

Jewish and non-Jewish organizations for weeks had been urging the group to cancel the Oct. 27 visit.

The day before the scheduled visit, Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panah were named the winners of the Sakharov Prize, and the delegation reportedly wanted to give the activists their prizes in person. Both are in Iranian prisons.

Iran reportedly nixed the visit, designed according to the European Parliament to “build bridges” with Iran, after the parliament’s president, Martin Schulz, made the meetings a precondi