Through their coverage of the Fosen case, the journalists have shed light on human rights for indigenous people, it says the justification.
The prize is awarded every two years to journalism that has, to a particularly high degree, shed light on current human rights issues in Norway. The journalists receive a monetary gift of NOK 100,000 and a print by the artist Cathrine Alice Liberg.
For a long time, Holstad and Nygård were almost alone in following the Fosen case, the statement says. Furthermore, it is pointed out that their work has put the state’s responsibility for the protection of minority rights on the agenda, particularly in connection with human rights protection against natural encroachment in areas that indigenous people use for traditional business activities and which are thus central to their cultural practice.
The Supreme Court ruled in October 2021 that the licenses granted for two wind power plants at Fosen, Roan and Storheia contravene the minority protection of the reindeer herding Sami in the area. The concessions, which last for 25 years, are therefore invalid.
Activists and politicians have demanded that the facilities must be demolished, while the government has tried to find other solutions. When the plant was still standing 500 days after the Supreme Court verdict, it led to large demonstrations. The activists occupied the entrance to the Ministry of Oil and Energy and several other ministries.
20 Sami youths and supporters from Natur og Ungdom have been charged after the demonstrations, among them the artist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen. The trial starts in the Oslo District Court on Monday 11 March.
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