Tell Vladimir Putin to stop the slow killing of Aleksei Navalny — We Need You to Take Action

Photo Credit: Photo by Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

“Russia, the Russian authorities, may be placing [Navalny] into a situation of a slow death and seeking to hide what is happening to him.” That’s how Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard publicly described the Kremlin’s actions. She would know. For three years before joining Amnesty, Agnes Callamard served as the UN's point person on extrajudicial killings, shedding the spotlight on governments around the world seeking to execute and disappear their political opponents. Now, she’s calling on the world to take action to help Navalny before it’s too late.

Aleksei Navalny is an anti-corruption activist and a prominent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In August 2020, he nearly died while aboard a plane over Siberia after he was poisoned. Independent experts have confirmed that he was exposed to a toxic chemical from the Noivchok group, a prohibited nerve agent. Navalny was rushed to recuperate in Berlin, where he was placed in a medically induced coma. Upon returning to Russia in January 2021, he was arbitrarily arrested and thrown in prison. Authorities absurdly accused him of failing to report to the probationary officer while he was incapacitated in Germany and replaced his parole with a real prison sentence passed in an unfair trial.

Since the start of his detention, his health has deteriorated rapidly. Navalny has complained of debilitating pain in his back and numbness in his legs. Russian prison authorities have repeatedly refused to grant him access to a medical professional of his choice, instead subjecting him to sleep deprivation. To protest his mistreatment, Navalny declared a hunger strike on March 31st. His condition continues to worsen every day and, based on his test results, independent medics have said that he is at risk of organ failure.

He is not alone. This week, thousands of people gathered in Russia to demand his freedom. Authorities arrested over 1,700 peaceful protestors, and subjected some of them to torture but could not break their will: people across Russia are planning additional peaceful demonstrations. They need to know they’re not alone. Email or message the Russian embassy and tell them you will not stay silent while the Kremlin tortures and kills a political opponent for daring to dissent.

⬇ Make Your Voice Heard ⬇

Prosecutor General

Igor

Viktorovich Krasnov

Russian Federation

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Dear Ambassador Antonov:

As a member/supporter of Amnesty International, I write to express my profound concern about the health and safety of Aleksei Navalny and urge you to convey to your government the concerns set out in this letter. I call on authorities in the Russian Federation to immediately release him and, pending his release, transfer him to a civilian hospital where he can receive medical care from independent medical specialists he can trust.

Alexsei Navalny has committed no recognizable criminal offence and is imprisoned because he is an outspoken critic of your government.  His imprisonment is unlawful, and the conditions of his imprisonment amount to torture or other ill-treatment.
I am deeply concerned that Aleksei Navalny’s health has deteriorated significantly in prison. He suffers from debilitating pain in his back and numbness in his legs, and his condition appears to be worsening by the day.  Medical experts agree that the after-effects of Novichok poisoning are serious and debilitating and require highly qualified and sustained medical attention.  The Russian prison authorities are obliged to provide him access to medical care he requires, however, despite repeated requests, to date Aleksei Navalny has been denied visits by a medical doctor of his choice.

As a state party to a number of international and regional human rights conventions, your government has binding obligations to respect and protect the right to life of prisoners and to protect them from torture and other ill-treatment.  The continuing imprisonment of Aleksei Navalny, the conditions of his detention, and the denial of his access to medical care and treatment he requires amount to unlawful deprivation of his liberty, and violations of his rights to life, to health and to not be subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.  Subjecting Aleksei Navalny to these conditions could lead to his death.
I call on your government, in the strongest terms, to take immediate action to:

· Release Aleksei Navalny;
· Pending his release, ensure he is transferred to a civilian hospital where he can be examined by qualified independent medical specialists of his choice and provided their prescribed treatment;
· Allow an independent review of his medical condition by health experts, such as representatives of the Charité Hospital in Germany, Médecins sans Frontières, or other medical organizations, subject to his consent;
· Undertake an immediate investigation into his conditions in prison, including allegations of depriving him of sleep by hourly “checks” during the night and the failure to provide adequate medical treatment, and hold to account those responsible for these practices;
· Provide access for independent observers, including human rights defenders and international experts, to assess conditions in penal colony IK-2 where Alexei Navalny is held.
· Withdraw the prosecutorial request to ban Alexsei Navalny’s organizations as “extremist”.
 
Yours sincerely,

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