Prisoner exchange

Released Orlov wants to continue fighting in exile

Oleg Orlov(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Moscow human rights activist Oleg Orlov, who was released in a prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries, now wants to continue his civil rights work in exile.

"Memorial cannot be destroyed," assured the 71-year-old at a press conference at the Zentrum Liberale Moderne in Berlin.

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights organization Memorial, which he co-founded, also campaigns for political prisoners in Russia. Orlov assumes that at least 800 political prisoners are still imprisoned in Russia - a conservative estimate.

Difficult new beginning
His new role in exile in Germany is difficult for him, as Orlov told us. He would rather be in his home country, but fears prosecution. According to Orlov, he now hopes that he can campaign for the release of other political prisoners in exile, including eight seriously ill people. "When it turned out that these people were not on the list, we were very disappointed - we who had been replaced." Memorial continues to work in Russia despite repression, but also from abroad.

Orlov was once co-chair of the human rights organization, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 for its documentation of war crimes, human rights violations and abuses of power in the former Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia. In 2022, Orlov had clearly positioned himself against Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine in an article entitled "They wanted fascism, they got it". The trial against him ultimately ended in February with a sentence of two and a half years in prison.

Historic prisoner exchange
In an unprecedented prisoner exchange, Russia, Belarus and Western states released 26 people on Thursday. Vadim Krassikov, the "zoo murderer" imprisoned in Germany, also returned to Russia.