(C) Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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Birthday of Russian opposition politician: UK statement [1]
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Date: 2023-09
Today (7 September) marks Russian opposition politician, journalist, and human rights activist Vladimir Kara-Murza’s 42nd birthday, the second he will spend in a Russian prison on politically-motivated charges.
Mr Kara-Murza was convicted of spreading “knowingly false information” about the Russian armed forces; involvement with an “undesirable” organisation; and treason, and in April was sentenced to 25 years in prison in Russia.
A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said:
Vladimir Kara-Murza should not be in prison at all – he is only there for having rightly called out Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a contravention of international law. We reiterate our call for Mr Kara-Murza’s immediate and unconditional release, and for Russia to adhere to its international human rights obligations. We commend the continued efforts of his wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza, to advocate for her husband and all those who have spoken out against Russia’s invasion.
Vladimir Kara-Murza has received wide recognition for his work, including the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize.
His persecution is part of a wider pattern of oppression of Russian citizens by the Kremlin. Since the invasion thousands of Russians have been arrested and prosecuted for even small gestures of opposition to the war. There have been over 600 prosecutions for similar ‘anti-war’ activity to the allegations against Mr Kara-Murza since February 2022.
Background
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[1] Url:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-statement-on-birthday-of-russian-opposition-politician
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