UN human rights experts appeal for Russia to release detained journalist and prominent opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza News
Mykola Swarnyk, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
UN human rights experts appeal for Russia to release detained journalist and prominent opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza

Friday, an independent UN human rights expert appealed for Russia to immediately release detained journalist and prominent opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, whose life is at risk due to deteriorating health. In a statement, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation Maria Katzarova said, “I am concerned that Vladimir Kara-Murza’s only crime was speaking truth to power, for which he is being punished with 25 years in prison” She continued to say that:

“Deprivation of liberty for the exercise of human rights, including the freedom of opinion, expression, and association, constitutes arbitrary detention under international human rights law.”

Kara-Murza is a Russian opposition figure and political activist who has been imprisoned multiple times in Russia for his activism. He has played a prominent role in the Russian democratic opposition movement and has been an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government.

Kara-Murza first gained international attention when he was poisoned in 2015, suffering multiple organ failures and falling into a coma. He miraculously survived, but the incident raised suspicions of a politically motivated assassination attempt due to his activism. He attributed his poisoning to his involvement in advocating for democratic reforms and exposing corruption in Russia.

After the poisoning incident, Kara-Murza continued his activism, advocating for democratic and human rights reforms in Russia. In 2017, he was again hospitalized with symptoms of poisoning but once more managed to survive.

In addition to the poisoning attempts, Kara-Murza has faced imprisonment in Russia. In 2016, he was briefly detained and charged with organizing illegal protests against Putin’s government. These charges were widely seen as politically motivated and an attempt to silence opposition figures. Kara-Murza was ultimately released but has been arrested and detained multiple times since then.

His imprisonment has drawn criticism and condemnation from international human rights organizations and governments. They argue that his arrests and detention are politically motivated and violate his human rights, including his right to freedom of expression and assembly.

On April 17 this year Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison for charges related to his criticism of the war in Ukraine. Prior to this, on March 4, the US Treasury Department sanctioned six people involved in the arbitrary detention of Russian war critic Vladimir Kara-Murza. In April 2022, Russia designated Kara-Murza as a “foreign agent” under Russia’s 2012 “foreign agent” law.

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