Putin opponent Kara-Mursa apparently transferred to prison clinic
In February, Russia's most prominent opposition figure, Vladimir Kara-Mursa, dies in Russian detention. Now concerns are growing for another imprisoned Kremlin critic: Vladimir Kara-Mursa, who has survived two poisoning attempts in the years 2015 and 2017 and is serving years for alleged high treason.
According to his wife's statements in an online post, Kara-Mursa has been transferred to a prison hospital. "His lawyers were denied access to him," writes Evgenia Kara-Mursa. She does not know how her husband is currently doing.
The relatives of the opposition figure have been concerned about his health condition for some time. Kara-Mursa suffers from a nervous system disease after two poisoning attempts in 2015 and 2017. Great Britain therefore demands his immediate release and urgent treatment of the 42-year-old. Kara-Mursa also holds British citizenship.
Kara-Mursa is one of the most prominent critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in April 2023 for "high treason" and "spreading false information" about the war in Ukraine. This is an exceptionally long prison sentence. According to various international media, the Russian secret service was involved in the poisoning attempts.
Harassment from the prison administration
Kara-Mursa was close to Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who died in a Russian penal colony in the Arctic in February. Since his death, the conditions for other imprisoned Kremlin critics have been gradually tightened. Kara-Mursa was most recently transferred to a cell with difficult conditions a few days ago. The formal reason for the punishment, according to his lawyer, was that Kara-Mursa had taken his hands off his back for a few seconds to put his hat back on its prescribed place.
Just a day before, Ilya Yashin, a close ally of Navalny, had been punished with the same penalty. The transfer to such cells is a common form of harassment by the prison administration specifically for political prisoners. The conditions there are particularly harsh. The cell is very cramped, the use of beds after waking up is forbidden, the daily walk in the yard is limited. For example, only one short visit with relatives is allowed per half year - and even that only with the permission of the administration.
Kara-Mursa's prison conditions were already harsh before. As he wrote to the "Bild" newspaper in the spring, his cell was only three meters by four meters. He reportedly had no contact with other inmates - he lived in complete isolation. Cats that occasionally came to the bars were his only companions, so Kara-Mursa. "Many of my colleagues and comrades are sitting in prison like me because they opposed Putin and his war in Ukraine. We understand perfectly that the government can do whatever it wants to us," so the Kremlin critic.
The international community, including Great Britain, has called for the immediate release and proper medical treatment of Vladimir Kara-Mursa, a British-Russian citizen and prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kara-Mursa is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence for allegations of high treason and spreading false information, and his health has been a concern due to past poisoning attempts. His situation parallels that of Alexei Navalny, another Kremlin critic who passed away in a Russian penal colony.
The harsh prison conditions for Kremlin critics, such as Kara-Mursa and Ilya Yashin, have been increasingly tightened since Navalny's death. Kara-Mursa was most recently transferred to a difficult cell with restricted conditions, a common form of harassment used by the prison administration towards political prisoners.
