Supporters of imprisoned Russian sociologist, author and anti-war activist Boris Kagarlitsky released the following message, recorded from his prison cell, on March 5.
In it, Kagarlitsky demands that the release of the thousands of political prisoners in the Russian Federation be negotiated as part of any agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States President Donald Trump over Ukraine.
As Green Left has previously reported, Kagarlitsky was barred from his teaching post at the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences shortly after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine and was slapped with restrictions on his freedom of expression. He was arrested in July 2023 over an offhand joke he made nine months earlier on social media regarding an attack on the Kerch bridge connecting Crimea to Russia.
For these comments, Kagarlitsky was found guilty of the trumped-up charge of “justifying terrorism” and handed a five-year jail term, which he is serving in Corrective Colony 4, Torzhok, Tver Province.
For more information about the case and the campaign to free Kagarlitsky, visit: freeboris.info.
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“There is an English saying: no justice, no peace.
“This is very important to remember when we are now discussing the conditions for a peace agreement or at least a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
“Because you should not forget, there are thousands, literally thousands of political prisoners in Russia. People, most of whom are imprisoned just because of their opposition to the war.
“And the release of these prisoners should be a part of the peace deal, part of the ceasefire deal should be a part of any agreement, any negotiations, should be a part of any conclusion of the conflict.
“This is not just an issue for us, those who are behind the bars, those who are imprisoned. It is an issue for Russia for the future of the country and the future of Europe. This is something not to be forgotten.”