On 17 April 2023, Mr. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition activist, journalist, and fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin’s regime, was sentenced to 25 years in a high-security penal colony. The judges of the Moscow court found him guilty of treason, spreading "false" information about the Russian army, and being affiliated with an "undesirable organization." PGA expresses its profound solidarity and support to Mr. Kara-Murza, his wife, and his children and strongly condemns the politically motivated conviction based on fabricated charges as well as the unjust sentence imposed for his criticism of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
For his relentless human rights advocacy, courageous criticism of Putin’s repressive policies, corruption, and war of aggression against Ukraine, and for being a leading voice for the voiceless and freedom, PGA’s Board unanimously decided to confer the 2022 Democracy Defender Award to Mr. Kara-Murza on 4 November 2022. The Award honors individuals who have demonstrated exceptional commitment and contribution to promoting peace, democracy, the rule of law, human rights, non-discrimination, and/or gender equality worldwide.
This sentence is the high recognition of the effectiveness of Vladimir’s work. He has proven time and again that he would not back down, that he would not abandon his fight, that he would not betray his country and betray his ideals. That he would keep on fighting. And this sentence shows that they’re so afraid of him and they hate him so much for his consistency, for his courage, for his amazing bravery… that they want to lock him up for a quarter of a century. Mrs. Evgenia Kara-Murza
Mrs. Evgenia Kara-Murza
Mr. Vladimir Kara-Murza was first detained on 11 April 2022 near his home in Moscow on administrative grounds and sentenced to 15 days in prison the next day. While in detention, the Russian Government opened a criminal investigation against him for spreading “deliberately false information” about the Russian Armed Forces during his 15 March 2022 speech before the Arizona House of Representatives. In the speech, Mr. Kara-Murza discussed criminality throughout Putin’s political career and the intentional Russian destruction of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure in the ongoing war of aggression, including “the cluster bombs on residential areas, the bombings of maternity wards and hospitals and schools” to which he referred as war crimes.
After adding him to a list of ‘foreign agents’ on 22 April, the Russian authorities brought an additionally equal spurious charge against Mr. Kara-Murza on 3 August for his involvement with an ‘undesirable’ foreign organization. The ‘undesirable organization’ law, adopted in 2015, was part of the repressive laws adopted by the Kremlin to suppress fundamental freedoms and independent voices, targeting nonprofit and non-governmental organizations that receive funding from foreign sources – mainly from Europe and the United States. The third bogus charge, for high treason (speaking out critically against the Russian authorities and the invasion of Ukraine at three public events), was formally initiated against Vladimir Kara-Murza on 6 October 2022.
Mr. Kara-Murza’s 25-year sentence was the maximum sought by prosecutors and is the longest sentence an opposition figure has received since the full-scale war in Ukraine. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Volker Türk, urged Russia to release Mr. Kara-Murza immediately. Mr. Türk stated that the sentence was "another blow to the rule of law and civic space in Russia. Kara-Murza was tried on charges that appear related to the legitimate exercise of his right to freedom of opinion, expression, and association, including his public criticism of the Russian Federation’s armed attack against Ukraine”. The sentence was equally condemned by the European Union, which criticized the trial for violating the international standards of a fair and public hearing by a competent, impartial, and independent tribunal, stressing that the court hearings were inaccessible for observers. Many individual governments, including France, Germany, Latvia, the United Kingdom, as well as the United States, have also condemned the sentence and called for Mr. Kara-Murza’s release.
While in detention, Mr. Kara-Murza’s health has deteriorated, and PGA is concerned about his physical and psychological integrity.
PGA endorses Amnesty International’s consideration of Vladimir Kara-Murza as a prisoner of conscience as he has been convicted solely for his political beliefs and calls on his immediate and unconditional release.
We reiterate that the work carried out by human rights defenders like Mr. Kara-Murza is essential to advance the Rule of Law, democracy, and human rights in Russia and around the world. Without the ability to dissent and enjoy the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, human rights defenders cannot carry out their work freely and in a safe environment jeopardizing the foundations and principles of our democracies as these are unable to ensure accountability and access to justice for victims of human rights violations.
