Civil Society Organizations Announce Launch of “Coalition to Free the Kremlin’s Political Prisoners”
February 21, 2019
As the Kremlin steps up its efforts to quell civil opposition and deploys its new law against “undesirables”, a group of Russian domestic and international civil society organizations from all over the world have announced the formation of the “Coalition to Free the Kremlin’s Political Prisoners.”
The coalition will seek to amplify the work of individual coalition members and coordinate collective actions to advocate for the release of Russia’s political prisoners, the number of which has risen to 235 according to the Memorial Human Rights Center. Among these political prisoners are “some of the most commonly targeted groups including human rights defenders, business opponents, journalists, bloggers, critics of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, religious and ethnic minorities, and anyone who dares to express political dissent.”
According to the coalition’s first press release,
“The Coalition arose from the need for sustained and consistent international pressure on the Kremlin to free its political prisoners. In recent years, the Kremlin has waged a brutal and systematic campaign to crush civil society in Russia and stifle dissent both within its borders and beyond. One of its preferred methods of repression is to arrest and detain political opponents on spurious criminal charges.
Domestic and international organizations and advocates have worked tirelessly to secure the release of the Kremlin’s political prisoners, but so far these efforts have had only limited success. The Kremlin has repeatedly dismissed, downplayed, or ignored calls by international organizations, governments, and non-governmental organizations to release political prisoners.
In light of the Kremlin’s resistance to advocacy on behalf of political prisoners, a common and coordinated advocacy strategy on political prisoners is needed now more than ever. The Coalition aims to fill this need by speaking with one voice and urging concerted action.”
Among the long list of the Kremlin’s political prisoners on whose behalf the coalition will advocate are Alexey Pichugin, Russia’s longest-serving political prisoner, Crimean film-maker and activist Oleg Sentsov, human rights activist and Coordinator with the Open Russia movement Anastasia Shevchenko, Danish citizen and Jehovah’s Witness Dennis Christensen, human rights activist and Memorial Human Rights Centre head in Chechnya Oyub Tititev, to name but a few.
The founding members of the Coalition to Free the Kremlin’s Political Prisoners are:
1. Action for Post-Soviet Jewry (United States)
2. Activatica.org (Estonia)
3. Article 20 (Russia)
4. Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine)
5. Euromaidan SOS (Ukraine)
6. Free Russia Foundation (United States, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia)
7. Human Rights Foundation (United States)
8. Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice (United States)
9. McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University (United States)
10. Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (Canada)
11. Solidarus (Germany)
12. Union of Council for Jews in the Former Soviet Union (United States)
According to the press release, “[t]he Coalition is being facilitated by Vladimir Kara-Murza, Chairman, Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom; David J. Kramer, former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State and current Senior Fellow, Václav Havel Program on Human Rights and Diplomacy, Florida International University; Natalia Arno, President of Free Russia Foundation; and Oleksandra Matviichuk, Center for Civil Liberties and Euromaidan SOS.”
Stay tuned for updates from the coalition as they work to give a voice to those who are deprived of an opportunity to speak up for themselves.
