NEW YORK (Aug. 1, 2024) — The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) welcomes the release of prominent Russian opposition leader and pro-democracy advocate Vladimir Kara-Murza, along with other prisoners of conscience in Russia. Among those released are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and former United States (US) Marine Paul Whelan.
“Vladimir’s trial was a travesty of justice for the world to witness. He and all those released today should never have spent a single minute in jail. Unfortunately, their cases are just a few among thousands in Russia,” HRF Chief Executive Officer Thor Halvorssen said. “We welcome Vladimir’s release. It is no exaggeration to say that his courage and determination are reminiscent of Sakharov, Solzhenitsyn, Bukovsky, Sharansky, and many others who suffered under the Soviet regime. Now in freedom, together with Vladimir, we will increase our efforts to challenge Putin’s tyranny and ultimately bring about a free and democratic Russia.”
Kara-Murza is known for his relentless work promoting democracy in Russia over the past 20 years and for his crucial role in advancing Magnitsky Sanctions programs in the US and several other countries. In 2015 and 2017, he survived two near-fatal poisonings, with all evidence implicating the Russian regime as the perpetrator. As a result, he developed a medical condition called polyneuropathy.
On April 11, 2022, while visiting Moscow, Kara-Murza was arrested and indicted on trumped-up charges of “dissemination of knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces,” “organizing the activities of an undesirable organization,” and “high treason.” The charges stemmed from his public speeches criticizing the Kremlin’s human rights violations and war in Ukraine, his alleged collaboration with the US-based Free Russia Foundation — an “undesirable” organization according to the Russian regime — and his “cooperation with a NATO country.”
On April 17, 2023, after a closed trial tainted by due process violations, the Moscow City Court sentenced Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison, the maximum possible sentence for his charges and the longest sentence imposed on an opposition figure in recent years.
Kara-Murza was serving his sentence under solitary confinement in a Siberian penal colony in Omsk, with restricted access to his family and lawyers. Under the prison’s severe conditions, his health deteriorated — he lost more than 50 pounds (22 kilograms) and experienced growing numbness in his limbs — but Russian officials consistently deprived him of adequate medical care.
On June 3, HRF submitted a joint petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), along with the Centre de la Protection Internationale, Freedom House, Free Russia Foundation, Global Justice Advisors, McCain Institute, and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. The petition requested that the UNWGAD declare Kara-Murza’s detention arbitrary under international law and urge Russia to immediately and unconditionally release him. The petition followed a letter to the US State Department, urging the agency to designate Kara-Murza, a lawful permanent resident of the US, as wrongfully detained and to facilitate his release and safe return to the US.
After being wrongfully detained in Russia for more than two years, Kara-Murza was released on Aug. 1 in a prisoner exchange between Russian and US officials, which included “the release of 16 people from Russia — including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country,” the Biden Administration reported.
“We celebrate the release of Vladimir Kara-Murza and are thrilled for his long-overdue reunion with his fearless wife, Evgenia, and their three children, who worked relentlessly for his release over the past two years,” HRF Chief Advocacy Officer Roberto González said. “Vladimir is a beacon of hope, resilience, and inspiration in the fight for human rights and democracy in Russia. His voice and leadership are needed now more than ever.”
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies.
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