The Fritt Ord Prize 2024
Harald Henden

Harald Henden (63) has shown perseverance and, at great risk to his own life, he has travelled to front lines and areas of conflict the world over to photograph important news events – always with civilian populations in mind. The current wars in Ukraine and Gaza underscore the importance of photo documentation for revealing the effects of war on the ground and exposing breaches of international law.

For war photographers and photojournalists, that often means arriving on the scene as early as possible to ensure the best possible access to uncensored reporting on what is happening as conflicts unfold. Harald Henden has bravely walked into unpredictable, dangerous zones to be a first-hand witness to breaking news.

“At a time of unrest when the authorities and other players are taking advantage of disinformation and propaganda, Fritt Ord aspires to use this prize to focus attention on the credibility of war and press photographers in the field, as they contribute a steady stream of reliable information”, according to Grete Brochmann, chair of the Fritt Ord Board.

Harald Henden has been in the thick of the long, drawn-out conflict between Israel and Palestine for several decades. In 2001, he was shot in the head in Ramallah on the West Bank while covering the Israeli election, and he had several trips to Gaza and the West Bank to his credit before he covered the Gaza wars between Israel and Palestine in 2008–2009, 2012 and 2014, the latter two from inside Gaza. Harald Henden travelled back to the Middle East to cover the war between Hamas and Israel in 2023, intending to enter Gaza, had that been possible.

“As regards access to information, Israel has blocked the international press from getting into Gaza during the current war. Palestinian photojournalists and civilians who are documenting the situation in Gaza today are doing crucial work at the risk of their own lives”, continues Grete Brochmann.

Harald Henden travelled to Kyiv, Ukraine even before Russia’s full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, to document the ramp-up to the invasion and the attacks in the days that followed. He has made six trips to Ukraine since January 2022, documenting the suffering and fate of soldiers and civilians alike in places such as Dnipro, Zaporizjzja, Izium, Bakhmut, Donbas and Kharkiv. By making repeated visits to the same areas, Henden gained insight not only into the conflict, but also into ordinary people’s survival strategies and everyday lives under extreme conditions.

Further, in an exemplary manner and with rare dedication, Harald Henden has documented global events from 1989 to the present day in countries such as Angola, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland, Macedonia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Thailand, Haiti and Somalia, to mention just a few. Employed by the newspaper VG since 1991, he has been assigned to the foreign affairs desk since 1999. He was recently diagnosed with cancer, bringing his career as a war photographer to an end. Over the years, Harald Henden has collaborated with international photojournalists and war photographers from every corner of the world, in addition to working for international media and image banks.

Harald Henden has taught generations of journalists about safety and security, serving as a role model for upcoming generations of photographers.

The prize was awarded to Harald Henden at the Oslo Opera House on Tuesday, 7 May 2024.

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