Russian journalists, politicians and human rights activists demanded the release of politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is accused of treason and spreading "fakes" about the army. At the time of publication of the note, an open letter in his defense was signed by more than 70 people.
“Vladimir Kara-Murza is a true Russian patriot and from the first days of the war he has been against Russian aggression, which brings endless disasters to the Ukrainian people and devours the lives of Russian military and mobilized citizens. But today in Russia, advocating for peace and ending the war is a criminal offense.
However, in addition to this unlawful and shameful accusation, Kara-Murza was charged with another one – treason. His betrayal consisted, as the prosecutor insists, in speaking at international forums condemning the war and the persecution of dissidents in Putin's Russia. These words and opinions have been equated by the prosecutor with gravity to a murder with many aggravating circumstances,” the letter says.
On April 6, 2023, the state prosecution requested 25 years in prison for Kara-Murza. He is required to be found guilty of three crimes: "fakes about the army", the activities of an undesirable organization and treason.
Vladimir Kara-Murza was arrested and sent to a pre-trial detention center in April 2022 on charges of “faking” about the Russian army. After some time, cases of treason and cooperation with an undesirable organization were opened against him.
In March, Kara-Murza's lawyer reported that during his stay in the punishment cell, the politician began to experience numbness in his limbs. So, on the third day after being placed in the punishment cell, Kara-Murza began to lose sensitivity, first on the right foot, and then on the left. The lawyer recalled that after two poisonings in 2015 and 2017, Kara-Murza developed peripheral polyneuropathy, and being in a punishment cell aggravated the disease.
In 2021, The Insider published an investigation into the poisoning of Kara-Murza.