The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is thrilled to announce the latest additions to the lineup of speakers for the 17th annual Oslo Freedom Forum, taking place in Oslo, Norway, from May 26 to 28.
This year’s Forum promises to be an inspiring gathering of some of the world’s most dedicated and courageous voices. Remarkable individuals will share their experiences, insights, and strategies in the ongoing struggle for freedom and democracy.
Sir William Browder
Founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, and author
Sir William Browder was the largest foreign portfolio investor in Russia until 2005, when he was deemed “a threat to national security” for exposing corruption. In 2008, his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, uncovered massive fraud committed by Russian government officials and was subsequently arrested, imprisoned without trial, and tortured. Magnitsky died in prison on Nov. 16, 2009. Since then, Browder has led the Global Magnitsky Campaign asking democracies across the world to impose targeted visa bans and asset freezes on human rights abusers and highly corrupt officials. In the US, Browder’s efforts led to the passage of the Sergei Magnitsky Accountability Act in 2012 and the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act in 2016.
Evgenia Kara-Murza
Advocacy Director of the Free Russia Foundation
Evgenia Kara-Murza is a Russian human rights advocate, democracy campaigner, and public speaker. After her husband, Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, was imprisoned for denouncing the war in Ukraine, she led a global advocacy campaign for his release. Director at the Free Russia Foundation, she is part of a global campaign of solidarity with Russian anti-war and pro-democracy activists inside and outside the country and continues her public advocacy on behalf of political prisoners. She serves as president of the 30 October Foundation, a nonprofit organization she and her husband established to provide financial support to families of political prisoners in Russia.
Vladimir Kara-Murza
Russian politician and former political prisoner
Vladimir Kara-Murza served as deputy leader of the People’s Freedom Party and was a candidate for Russian Parliament. He played a key role in the adoption of Magnitsky sanctions against top Russian officials. In April 2022, Kara-Murza was arrested for publicly denouncing the invasion of Ukraine. He was sentenced to 25 years for “high treason” and held in solitary confinement. He was released in 2024 as part of the largest prisoner exchange since the Cold War. He serves as vice president at the Free Russia Foundation, senior advisor at Human Rights First, and senior fellow at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.
Ani Chkhikvadze
Georgian independent journalist
Ani Chkhikvadze is a journalist focused on international politics, security, and United States foreign policy. She has covered mass protests and political shifts in Georgia, including the ongoing demonstrations in Tbilisi against the ruling party’s authoritarian drift and its distancing from the European Union and the West. Her reporting has appeared in Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, The Spectator, The Free Press, and other outlets. She spent eight years in Washington as a correspondent for Voice of America, reporting on US diplomacy, defense policy, and post-Soviet affairs. She holds a master’s from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a bachelor’s from Tbilisi State University.
Azza Abo Rebieh
Syrian artist and activist
Azza Abo Rebieh is a Syrian artist born in Hama in 1980. During the Syrian revolution, she created graffiti, led workshops with women, and organized puppet theater for children in rural villages. In 2015, she was detained by the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Following her release, her prison drawings were exhibited at the Drawing Center in New York. Her work explores memory, resistance, and survival and is held in collections including the British Museum and Institut du Monde Arabe.
Enrique Del Risco
Cuban writer and professor
Enrique del Risco is a Cuban writer and professor at NYU. He began his academic career in Cuba, but the constant surveillance and censorship forced him to leave the island in the 1990s. Since then, he has continued to denounce the dictatorship and has published several books detailing life under the island’s totalitarian regime, including “Our Hunger in Havana,” in which he recounts life in Cuba during the “Special Period,” and “The Comrade Who Looks After Me,” a book in which 50 Cuban writers discuss their relationship with the political police.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear their stories firsthand and join them in the global movement for human rights. Stay tuned for additional speaker announcements, and register for OFF today!
Find regular updates about the 2025 Oslo Freedom Forum at oslofreedomforum.com and on social media.
If you are interested in sponsoring the Oslo Freedom Forum, please contact [email protected]. If you are interested in attending as a member of the media, please contact [email protected].
