On the Day of Remembrance for Victims of Political Repression, 25 members of the European Parliament spoke out in support of Russian political prisoners, including the arrested lawyers of Alexei Navalny. Member of the European Parliament from Lithuania Andrius Kubilius spoke about this.
Parliamentarians expressed solidarity with Vladimir Kara-Murza, sentenced to 25 years in prison, and ex-coordinator of Navalny’s Ufa headquarters Liliya Chanysheva, who was sent to a colony for 7.5 years , sentenced to 9 years in prison by the ex-coordinator of Navalny’s headquarters in Barnaul, Vadim Ostanin, and with politician Ilya Yashin, who was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison.
The deputies also supported “all the others who are bravely participating in the one-day hunger strike, people who demonstrate an unwavering commitment to justice.” Among the political prisoners, the letter also named Daniel Kholodny, sentenced to eight years in prison, Alexey Navalny, who was sentenced to 19 years in a special regime colony in August, and the politician’s arrested lawyers Vadim Kobzev, Alexey Liptser and Igor Sergunin.
Navalny’s lawyers in the pre-trial detention center. Who are Vadim Kobzev, Alexey Liptser and Igor Sergunin
“We admire the unshakable determination of political prisoners who, despite torture and difficult conditions, continue to rebel against injustice, including an unjust war. Our words of support also extend to lawyers who tirelessly represent the interests of political prisoners, often at great risk,” added members of the European Parliament.
Every year on October 30, Russia celebrates the Day of Remembrance for Victims of Political Repression. The day before, on October 29, Moscow security forces blocked Lubyanka Square and the passages to the Solovetsky Stone, where the “Return of Names” action was to take place. From 10 am to 10 pm on October 29, people come to the monuments to the victims of Soviet repression and read out the names of those executed.