13 December 2025

Norwegian Nobel Committee expresses relief at the release of Ales Bialiatski

The Norwegian Nobel Committee expresses its profound relief and heartfelt joy at the release of Ales Bialiatski, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2022, from prison in Belarus. His freedom is a deeply welcome and long-awaited moment. He had been serving a ten-year sentence imposed in retaliation for his peaceful work in defence of human rights and democracy.

At the same time, more than 1200 political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus, and their continued detention starkly illustrates the ongoing, systemic repression in the country. 

The Norwegian Nobel Committee calls on the Belarusian authorities to release all political prisoners and to guarantee that Ales Bialiatski and other human rights defenders can live and work freely, without fear of renewed persecution.

Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee

28 February 2024

Statement by the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Russian authorities attempt to silence Memorial leadership

The Norwegian Nobel Committee is appalled by the news that the Russian human-rights activist Oleg Petrovich Orlov has been sentenced to 2½ years in prison, allegedly for “repeatedly discrediting” the Russian armed forces. Mr Orlov, who is co-chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-awarded human rights group Memorial, has been a vocal critic of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. 

“The sentence against Mr. Orlov is politically motivated and provides another proof of the increasing disrespect for human rights and freedom of speech in today’s Russia, the Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee”, Mr. Jørgen Watne Frydnes, says in a brief statement. “The Putin regime has for many years tried to silence the leadership of Memorial and other important civil society organizations in Russia, and they are now using the war on Ukraine as a pretext to finish the job. It is important that they won’t succeed”, he adds.  

In 2022, Memorial was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its outstanding efforts in documenting war crimes, human rights abuses, and the abuse of power in the former Soviet Union as well as in post-Soviet Russia.  

5 June 2023

Statement by the Norwegian Nobel Committee on the charges against Memorial’s Oleg Orlov

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate Memorial is an important civil society organization that undertakes significant documentation work and contributes to a broader understanding of past abuses, aiming to prevent their recurrence in the future. Memorial has made outstanding efforts in documenting war crimes, human rights abuses, and the abuse of power.

Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen