As the family and friends of Alexei Navalny continue to press the Russian government for the return of his body, and the Russian officials continue to stall (thus giving them time to cover any traces of their own guilt in connection with his sudden death), it is vitally important that we not overlook those other HOSTAGES being held in various prisons and penal colonies across Russia.

And the one who appears to be at the most imminent risk is Vladimir Kara-Murza, whose wife Evgenia temporarily lost track of him at the end of January when she was told that he had left the “strict regime” penal colony in Omsk, Siberia, where he had been held since last September. While ominously reminiscent of the earlier experience of Alexei Navalny, who had gone missing for three weeks before resurfacing in one of the worst of Russia’s Siberian prisons, it was soon learned that Kara-Murza was simply moved to another prison in the same region of Omsk.

In a letter from Kara-Murza to his attorneys, he said that this action was taken as “punishment for not standing up when told to ‘rise’ by a guard,” and that the guards had considered this a “malicious violation” of prison rules. He added, “Everything is okay with me – I’m clothed, shod, fed and warm, the people here are all fine.” Yet he also stated that he had been sent to an isolated cell, and had been told he might be moved back in four months. [Patrick Jackson, BBC News, Jan. 30, 2024.]

Keep in mind that — like the late Alexei Navalny — Vladimir Kara-Murza has serious health problems, some of which are the direct or indirect result of two earlier attempted poisonings. Conditions in a Siberian penal colony can only exacerbate those problems. I hate to think that this is a case of “deja vu all over again.”

So I urge you once more: Do not forget or forsake those men and women being held HOSTAGE by the Russian government, who have done no more than speak out against the dictatorial, fascist regime of Vladimir Putin. While they have been forced into silence, we have not.

Let us use our voices for them.

*. *. *

Please . . . bring them home!

Brendochka
2/19/24