128 world-renowned cultural figures have called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to release opposition leader Alexei Navalny and provide him with emergency medical treatment. The text in Russian was published in Meduza.
Signatories include dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, writer JK Rowling, Nobel Prize laureates in literature Orhan Pamuk, Herta Müller, Olga Tokarchuk, Svetlana Aleksievich, Mario Vargas Llosa and John Coetzee, artist Art Spiegelman, playwright Tom Stoppard, actor Jean Reno, former Manchester footballer. United United” Eric Cantona, director JJ Abrams, former spiritual leader of the Church of England Rowan Williams, journalist Ann Applebaum.
“Navalny is serving time in prison on charges that would never have been accepted by a fair, independent tribunal,” the text of the appeal reads. “We support the call of the German government, the American and European authorities demanding his immediate release. It’s yours.”
The text notes that the signatories join the claims of 600 Russian doctors, and 100 Russian lawyers and 100 regional deputies demanding an end to the tortures of the opponent. It is noteworthy that the politician is again and again sent to a punishment cell – in the text it is called “a solitary confinement, a concrete cube the size of a doghouse.”
Navalny was detained, arrested and sent to a colony in early 2021 upon his return to Russia after treatment and rehabilitation in Germany. He has been convicted in several criminal cases and a trial is being prepared to charge him with extremism. The investigator warned that he would be tried for organizing a terrorist community.
Companions of the opponent, many political and human rights organizations are convinced that he is being tried for opposing power. The Kremlin denies this and says it does not interfere in criminal cases.
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