Russian opponent Vladimir Kara-Mourza, sentenced to 25 years in prison, wrote that he had been placed in solitary confinement for at least four months, after his relatives and several Western chancelleries became concerned about his situation.
His lawyer, Maria Eismont, forwarded a letter from Kara-Mourza published Tuesday by the media
Novaya Gazeta
, in which he indicates that he was transferred from penal colony No. 6 in Omsk, Siberia, to another, No. 7 , in the same town.
“On Friday, I was summoned without warning to a “commission” for yet another “malicious offense”, when I did not get up at the signal “Stand up!”
(in his cell, Editor’s note) which they did not sound
,” he wrote.
To discover
Follow information on the war in Ukraine with the Figaro application
He is placed in a special cell in solitary confinement at least until May 26, but
“these deadlines may change
,” he said, particularly in the event of accusations of new violations on his part during his detention. .
The day before, his wife, Evguénia Kara-Mourza, who lives in exile, was worried about his transfer to
“an unknown place”
.
German and British diplomats then became concerned about his fate.
Poor health
British Foreign Minister David Cameron on Monday called on Russia to
“urgently”
provide information on the opponent's whereabouts, adding that he planned to meet
his wife
“soon” .
Those close to Kara-Mourza, who also has British citizenship, are concerned about his fragile health, with the opponent suffering from a nervous condition called polyneuropathy, caused by two poisoning attempts.
In April 2023, he was found guilty of spreading
"false information"
about the Russian military and having links to an
"undesirable organization"
following a trial in behind closed doors.
His sentence of 25 years in prison is one of the heaviest against a major opponent in recent years, in the midst of repression in Russia since the assault on Ukraine almost two years ago.