The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk demanded the release "
without delay
" of the Russian opponent Vladimir Kara-Murza sentenced on Monday to 25 years in prison.
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“
No one should be deprived of their liberty for exercising their human rights, and I call on the Russian authorities to release him without delay.
While he is detained, he must be treated humanely
,” he said in a statement sent to the media.
EU denounces 'scandalously harsh' sentence
The European Union on Monday denounced the "
scandalously severe
" sentence of 25 years in prison imposed on Russian opponent Vladimir Kara-Mourza after a "
political trial
".
“
The shockingly harsh court ruling demonstrates yet again the misuse of the judiciary to pressure activists, human rights defenders and any voices opposed to Russia's illegitimate war of aggression against Russia. 'Ukraine
,' denounced the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell in a press release.
Berlin denounces the sentence with "the greatest firmness"
The German government on Monday denounced "
with the greatest firmness
" the sentencing of Russian opponent Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison.
“
This judgment, like many others, aims to deter, exclude and prevent critical voices
” in Russia, German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Andrea Sasse told a regular press conference. demanding the “
immediate release
” of Mr. Kara-Murza, found guilty in particular of “
high treason
” and of spreading “
false information
” about the Russian army.
“
I can tell you, on behalf of the federal government, that we condemn this judgment in the strongest possible terms
,” added the spokesperson.
“
The trial of
Vladimir
Kara-Murza
shows how Russian justice is being used against him and many of his compatriots, and how repression in Russia is reaching shocking proportions
,” concluded Ms. Sasse.
Mr Kara-Murza, close to prominent opponent Boris Nemtsov assassinated in 2015, was one of the last Kremlin critics not to be behind bars or exiled abroad.
Following a trial behind closed doors, he was sentenced to a cumulative 25 years in a harsh regime penal colony, implying stricter prison conditions.
In pre-trial detention since April 2022, Mr. Kara-Murza almost died after being, according to him, poisoned twice, in 2015 and 2017, from assassination attempts which he attributes to Russian power.
Read alsoRussia: Vladimir Kara-Murza, “opponent number 2” sentenced to 25 years in prison for high treason
London calls for his
“
immediate release”
The British government on Monday denounced "
the politically motivated sentence
" of Russian opponent Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison, demanding his "
immediate release
" and announcing the summons of the Russian ambassador.
"
The United Kingdom will continue (...) to call for the immediate release of Mr.
Kara-Murza
," Foreign Minister James Cleverly said in a statement.
The Foreign Office said it had summoned Russian Ambassador Andrei Keline on Monday to tell him that the conviction of the opponent, who holds British nationality, was "contrary to
Russia's international human rights obligations
".
France “dismayed”
France is "
appalled
" by the condemnation reacted on Monday the spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, deploring the instrumentalization of justice in Russia, "
become a tool of oppression of the Kremlin
".
This condemnation “
constitutes a new illustration of the campaign of repression led by the Russian authorities against the voices critical of power and of its war of aggression against Ukraine
”, declared Anne-Claire Legendre.
