Vladimir Kara-Murza was imprisoned following a “show trial” after he objected to Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, and called for western sanctions on the despot’s regime
A British political prisoner in Russia has been rushed from solitary confinement to a jail hospital, his wife has revealed.
Vladimir Kara-Murza is serving a 25-year prison sentence for “treason” in a hellhole Putin penal colony in Siberia. Mr Kara-Murza, 42, is known to be in a frail state, with the journalist having been poisoned twice by Russia’s secret service, with concerns the dual Russian-British national could meet the same fate as opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
The journalist was jailed in April 2023 following a “show trial” after he denounced despot Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, and called for Western sanctions on his regime. His wife, Evgenia, said that his lawyers were refused access to the opposition politician. Mr Kara-Murza is known to suffer from a nerve condition called polyneuropathy after surviving the two poisoning attempts, and has repeatedly voiced concerns about his health in prison, said his wife.
He has been held in solitary confinement for more than 280 days in a row, and has not been allowed to communicate with other prisoners – or his family. The cruel treatment in IK-6 maximum security penal colony in Omsk region is believed to be on Putin’s orders. The British citizen was moved to regional hospital No 11 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia. His lawyers were denied access to Kara-Murza on Friday, and told they would not be permitted to see him at the weekend.
Another jailed opposition politician Ilya Yashin, 41, has previously warned that Kara-Murza’s life is in jeopardy. Speaking in February, Mr Yashin said: “The threat to his life is not only real, it is immense”.
Mr Kara-Murza’s imprisonment has captured the attention of British officials, with Nusrat Ghani, the Minister of State for Europe, having spoken with Mrs Kara-Murza in May. Ms Ghani praised her as a “tireless champion for the case of her husband”, and pledged that the UK government would “not rest until Mr Kara-Murza is released”.
She added: “Imprisoned on politically motivated charges by the Russian authorities, Mr Kara-Murza is being persecuted for opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The prison conditions are threatening his life. His health is declining.
“Mr Kara-Murza is a committed human rights activist. He represents the open and democratic Russia we still hope to see, and everything Putin’s regime seeks to undermine. Russia must release him immediately on humanitarian grounds for urgent medical treatment.”
