Opinion | I am proud to have spoken out against Putin’s crimes in Ukraine

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Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Global Opinions contributor, is addressing the Russian Supreme Court in a cassation appeal against his 25-year sentence for speaking out against the war in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin's regime. Kara-Murza highlights the legal irregularities in his case, including the lack of grounds or specific crime, the contradiction of his conviction with Russia's international human rights obligations, and the illegal composition of the court. He argues that the Russian government is more interested in silencing those who speak out against war crimes than in prosecuting the actual perpetrators. Kara-Murza compares his case to historical examples of dictatorships equating criticism of the authorities with treason. He expresses pride in the many people who have not remained silent in Russia despite the risks to their freedom. Kara-Murza concludes that his case is based on the denial of law, justice, and legality, and is a common tactic of dictatorships throughout history.

#Putin #Ukraine #WarCrimes #FreedomOfSpeech #HumanRights #CassationAppeal #RussianSupremeCourt

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/04/03/vladimir-kara-murza-statement-court-russia/