Olga became the laureate in the nomination “Protection of the rights of prisoners and other vulnerable groups”. In other nominations dedicated to the achievements in the field of human rights, there were honored, inter alia, journalist Katerina Gordeeva, the chairman of Memorial Yan Rachinsky and human rights activist Pavel Chikov.

This ceremony of the MHG awards was the fifteenth: it has been held annually since 2009. The Moscow Helsinki Group, one of the oldest human rights organizations in Russia, was liquidated after the relevant lawsuit of the Ministry of Justice in January 2023. The awarding of the laureates took place on the eve of the consideration of that lawsuit in the appellate court.

Olga Sadovskaya is the head of the international legal protection department of the Crew Against Torture. Olga has been working at the CAT for more than 20 years — almost since the foundation of the organization. One can learn about Olga’s professional path (and the CAT’s history in general) by listening to her interview with Katerina Gordeeva.