“We will not be silent on this” says Havel Library chief on Kara-Murza jailing

Photo: Tomáš Roček, Czech Radio

Russian journalist and politician Vladimir Kara-Murza received a 25-year jail term on Monday on charges linked to his criticism of the war in Ukraine. It is the longest sentence Russia has handed down to an opposition figure since it launched the invasion. Mr. Kara-Murza, who also has UK citizenship, won the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize last year and I discussed his case with Michael Žantovský, head of the Václav Havel Library in Prague.

“I think it’s a typical Stalinist type trial, with a draconian punishment for verbal statements that are the human right of every citizen, every individual, in a normal country.

“It’s disgusting and it cannot go unnoticed and unpunished by people in the West, by Britain, which is a country of his citizenship, by the United States, where he was a resident for a considerable amount of time, and everywhere, including this country.

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Author: Ian Willoughby