Wife: Kara-Mursa 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 neurological condition after two poisoning attempts in 2015 and 2017. Britain therefore calls for 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 progressively 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, Ilja Yashin, a close associate of Navalny, had been punished with the same sentence. 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 being woken up is forbidden, the daily walk in the yard is limited. For example, only one short meeting with relatives is allowed per half-year - and this only with the permission of the administration.
Kara-Mursa's prison conditions were harsh even before. As he wrote to the "Bild" newspaper in the spring, his cell was only three meters by four meters in size. He reportedly had no contact with other inmates - he lived in complete isolation. Cats that occasionally came to the wire fences 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," the Kremlin critic said.
Vladimir Putin's criticism continues to face harsh consequences in Russia. Following the death of Vladimir Kara-Mursa's compatriot and prominent critic, Alexei Navalny, in a Russian penal colony, Kara-Mursa himself is facing increasingly challenging prison conditions.
Despite surviving two poisoning attempts in 2015 and 2017, Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Mursa is currently serving a 25-year sentence for alleged high treason and spreading false information about the war in Ukraine, under the watchful eye of President Vladimir Putin's administration.
