Thomas Nilsen

Record-high participation at 10th Arctic Frontiers

More than 1,400 delegates from around the globe are gathered in Tromsø this week to discuss the balance between the hunt for resources and the need for environmental protection of the Arctic.
January 25, 2016

Moscow tells Norway to halt return of asylum seekers

Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed Norwegian authorities that FSB border service wants better coordination of the transportations.
January 23, 2016

Campaign group urges bus drivers, police staff and others not to participate in deportations

The group says deporting asylum seekers to Russia without an actual consideration of their individual asylum applications, is a breach of Norway’s Human Rights obligations.
January 23, 2016

Norwegian police detained 15 asylum children in Kirkenes

Norwegian Police Immigration Service collectively detained all remaining 82 persons, including 15 children, at the camp after three migrants left for a nearby church. The children were later released after journalists started to ask questions.
January 22, 2016

Here comes the sun

Today, the sun was finally shining again over the frozen landscape in -30°C after being away from Finnmark since late November last year.
January 22, 2016

“We had to help them”

Merete Eriksson and Eirik Nilsen were arrested by police for helping asylum seekers leave the camp before a planned deportation to Russia.
January 21, 2016

Border citizens with warm support to migrants in freezing cold

They got a glimpse of hope by watching the support demonstration outside the camp near Kirkenes Wednesday evening. Warm support from the locals is however not enough; return to Russia will be carried out.
January 20, 2016

Facebook and green energy key to economic boom

This northern Swedish town has totally changed. People and new businesses are moving in, new restaurants open, house prices jump and Matz Engman, CEO of Luleå Business & Economic Development, says this is just the beginning.
January 20, 2016

Kirkenes-Rune asks Prime Minister to treat refugees with respect

Mayor of Kirkenes says Norway must not violate international laws in its eagerness to send out people that are in desperate situation.
January 19, 2016

Bus with returned asylum seekers on the road towards Murmansk

January 19, 2016

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Thomas Nilsen is editor of the Independent Barents Observer with its news desk located in Kirkenes, northern Norway. He has a long experience in media cooperation across the borders in the high north of Europe, both as radio- and newspaper reporter all the way back to the days before the breakup of the Soviet Union. 

Nilsen has been editor of Barents Observer since 2009.

He was Deputy Head of the Norwegian Barents Secretariat from 2004-2009. Until 2003, he worked 12 years for the Bellona Foundation’s Russian study group, focusing on nuclear safety issues and general environmental challenges in northern areas and the Arctic. 

Thomas has been traveling extensively across northern Scandinavia and Arctic Russia since the late 80’s working for different media and organizations. He is also a guide at sea and in remote locations in the Russian north for various groups and regularly lectures on security issues, environmental and socio-economic development.

Thomas Nilsen studied at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Mobile: +47-90573143

thomas@thebarentsobserver.com
@nilsen.thomas