We stand in solidarity with Vladimir Kara-Murza

Prague, Czech Republic
March 21, 2023

We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with Vladimir Kara-Murza and call on Russian government, specifically the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, to release Vladimir Kara-Murza and acquit him of all charges.

The charges against Vladimir are politically motivated and a violation of his fundamental human rights. Vladimir has dedicated his life to defending democracy and human rights in Russia, and his imprisonment is a clear attempt to silence him and intimidate others who dare to speak out against the Putin regime. We urge the international community to join us in condemning his arrest and to hold the Russian government accountable for its ongoing human rights abuses.

Vladimir Kara-Murza is a prominent Russian politician and human rights activist who has been in opposition to Vladimir Putin's government for many years. He has faced two poisonings in retaliation for his outspoken criticism of the Putin regime's crimes and corruption. In April 2022, he was arrested for speaking out against the war crimes committed by the Russian army in Ukraine and calling for the establishment of an international tribunal to hold those responsible accountable. He was later charged with high treason for making speeches about political repression and censorship in Russia. The official indictment said that his speeches “created a threat to the security and constitutional order of the Russian Federation and damaged the reputation of the Russian Federation on the international level.” His trial is ongoing, and he faces up to 24 years in prison if convicted.

We would like to end this statement with the words of Vladimir’s wife Evgenia: “I completely share the conviction of Andrei Sakharov, civil rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, that publicity is ‘the main weapon in the struggle for human rights’ and this weapon should be used every time human rights are being violated and human dignity and life are endangered.” With these words in mind we are coming together to show our support for Vladimir.

In cooperation with Democracy Today and support of Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.

This initiative builds on the previous resolutions of many national Parliaments and interparliamentary groups, including the letter of the Chairs or Foreign Affairs Committees and the Transatlantic Interparliamentary Statement.

Signatories as of March 17, 2022:

  • Michael Abramowitz, President, Freedom House
  • Tamara Adrian, Parliamentarian, National Assembly of Venezuela 2015
  • Hernán Alberro, Associate Fellow, Forum 2000 Foundation
  • Leila Alieva, Director, Center for National and International Studies
  • Morris Allen, Rabbi, Beth Jacob Congregation
  • Paul Berman, Writer, Independent
  • Nicole Bibbins Sedaca, Executive Vice President, Freedom House
  • Eric Bjornlund, President and CEO, Democracy International
  • Ladan Boroumand, Historian & Human Rights advocate, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center
  • Marcus Brauchli, Managing Partner, North Base Media
  • Darko Brkan, Executive Director, UG Zasto ne
  • Andreas Bummel, Executive Director, Democracy Without Borders
  • Martin Butora, Amb (Ret.), Honorary President, Institute for Public Affairs, Bratislava
  • Sean Carroll, Former COO, Obama-Biden Administration
  • Adem Carroll, Justice for All
  • Ketevan Chachava, Executive Director, CDD
  • Armando Chaguaceda, Political Scientist, GAPAC (México)
  • Irwin Cotler, International Chair, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights
  • Manuel Cuesta Morúa, Spokesperson, Progressive Arc, Cuba
  • Aisha Dabo, Coordinator, AfricTivistes
  • Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), Stanford University, USA
  • Edipcia Dubon, Executive Director, Puentes para el Desarrollo de Centroamérica
  • Brigitte Dufour, Director, International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR)
  • Wolfgang Eichwede, Historian, Prof. Dr., University of Bremen, Germany
  • Joao Espada, Director, Institute for Political Studies, Lisbon
  • Nino Evgenidze, Executive Director, EPRC
  • Carlos Fara, Secretario, CADAL
  • Ralf Fuecks, Director, Center for Liberal Modernity
  • Francis Fukuyama, Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow, Stanford University
  • Carl Gershman, Founding President, National Endowment for Democracy
  • Borys Gudziak, President, Ukrainian Catholic University
  • Tomáš Halík, President, Czech Christian Academy
  • Rebecca Harms, Former MEP and President of the Green Group in the European Parliament
  • Lauren Grabelle Herrmann, Rabbi, SAJ-Judaism that Stands for All
  • Maiko Ichihara, Professor, Hitotsubashi University
  • Hasler Iglesias, Venezuelan Activist
  • Dolkun Isa, President, World Uyghur Congress
  • Tolekan Ismailova, Director of the HRM “Bir Duino-Kyrgyzstan“
  • Leszek Jazdzewski, Editor-in-chief, Liberté!
  • Audrey Kalajian, Board Member, Democracy Today
  • Garry Kasparov, Chairman, Human Rights Foundation (HRF)
  • Hisham Kassem, Former Chairman, Egyptian Organization for Human Rights
  • Zoltán Kész, Government Affairs Manager and Former Hungarian MP, Consumer Choice Center
  • Tinatin Khidasheli, Chairwoman, Civic IDEA, Georgia
  • Jakub Klepal, Executive Director, Forum 2000 Foundation
  • David J. Kramer, Executive Director, George W. Bush Institute
  • Batu Kutelia, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Research Institute
  • Vytautas Landsbergis, Former Head of State, Lithuania
  • Elena Larrinaga de Luis, Cuban Dissident
  • Ellen Lippmann, Rabbi Emerita, Kolot Chayeinu/Voices of Our Lives, Brooklyn
  • Tania López Lizca, Public Relations Responsible, The Latin American Coalition for Human Rights
  • Jean Jacques Lumumba, Ambassador, UNIS, Réseau Panafricain de Lutte contre la Corruption
  • Anar Mammadli, Chairperson, Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center
  • Rafael Marques de Morais, President, Centro de Estudos Ufolo para a Boa Governação
  • Myroslav Marynovych, Vice-Rector, Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv
  • Constanza Mazzina, Coordinadora Académica, DemoAmlat
  • Markus Meckel, Chairman Council, Foundation German Polish Cooperation
  • Heidi Meinzolt, WILPF Germany
  • Thomas O. Melia, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of State

  • Stefan Melle, Director, Austausch - For a European Civil Society

  • Robert C. Miller, Partner, Davidson, Dawson & Clark llp
  • Giorgi Muchaidze, Executive Director, Atlantic Council of Georgia
  • Joshua Muravchik, Adjunct Professor, Institute of World Politics
  • Moises Naim, Distinguished Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  • Carolann Najarian, Member, Committee to Save Artsakh
  • Ucha Nanuashvili, Founder, Democracy Research Institute, Former Public defender (Ombudsman) of Georgia
  • Andrea Ngombet, Founder, Sassoufit Collective
  • Ghia Nodia, Chairman, Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development
  • Wai Wai Nu, Executive Director, Women's Peace Network
  • Martin Palous, Director of Vaclav Havel Program for Human Rights and Diplomacy at Florida International University
  • Baia Pataraia, Director, Sapari
  • Pavel Pseja, Lecturer, Metropolitan University/CEVRO Institute
  • Vesna Pusić, Former Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, ECFR, Foreign Policy Forum, Croatia
  • Mykola Riabchuk, Honorary President, Ukrainian PEN Center
  • Rafael Rincón-Urdaneta Zerpa, Communications Coordinator, Forum 2000 Foundation
  • Jacques Rupnik, Research Professor, CERI - Sciences po
  • Daya Sagar Shrestha, Executive Director, National Campaign for Sustainable Development Nepal
  • Niranjan Sahoo, Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation
  • Andrei Sannikov, Chairman, European Belarus Foundation
  • Hugh Segal, Queens University, Canada
  • Gulnara Shahinian, Chair, Democracy Today
  • Vasil Sikharulidze, Professor, Program Director, Alte University, Tbilisi, Georgia
  • Brandon Silver, Director of Policy and Projects, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights
  • Timothy Snyder, Professor of History, Yale University
  • Alice Stollmeyer, Executive Director, Defend Democracy
  • Nicolas Tenzer, Chairman, Centre d'Etude et de Réflexion pour l'Action Politique (CERAP)
  • David A. Teutsch, Professor Emeritus, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
  • Jhanisse Vaca Daza, Founder, Ríos de Pie, Bolivia
  • Maria Marin Vazquez, Executive Director, ProboxVE
  • Alexandr Vondra, Member of the European Parliament
  • Tomáš Vrba, Chairman, Board of Directors, Forum 2000 Foundation, Czechia
  • George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center
  • Simkha Y. Weintraub, Retired Rabbinic Director, Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services
  • Damon Wilson, President, National Endowment for Democracy, USA
  • David Wolpe, Senior Rabbi, Sinai Temple
  • Jianli Yang, Founder and President, Citizen Power Initiatives for China
  • Liao Yiwu, Writer and Poet, Germany
  • Leyla Yunus, Director of Institute for Peace and Democracy
  • Yevgeniy Zhovtis, Director, Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law
  • Michael Žantovský, Executive Director, Václav Havel Library, Czechia