Thread by @astroehlein

Two decades ago, I asked Russian investigative journalist & human rights defender Anna Politkovskaya how she could keep doing what she did. For her reporting on abuses by Russian forces in the 2nd Chechen War, the military detained & beat her & subjected her to mock execution. 1/

“How can you go on with your investigations? Surely you know the military’s intimidation is not just for show, and that they may actually kill you next time, no?”

“Of course,” she replied. She saw no choice: The crimes had to be exposed, and she was in a position to do it. 2/

Politkovskaya was poisoned on a plane in 2004, much as Navalny was last year. She survived the poisoning but was shot dead outside her apartment in 2006. 3/

I don’t believe that human rights defenders like Politkovskaya have any desire to become martyrs. They feel taken over by the gravity of the issue and become possessed by the historical importance of what they do. 4/

We see dissidents’ bravery and vision as inspiring, but also incomprehensible. We struggle to understand what makes them choose such a dangerous path in life.

But that’s just it: We see it as a brave choice.

They don’t see any choice at all.

5/

Read more on 4 of today's dissidents around the world:

- @Ahmed_Mansoor in UAE,

- @GuajajaraSonia in Brazil,

- @HEBobiwine in Uganda,

- Ilham Tohti in China.

My new article for @JoinPersuasion:
persuasion.community/p/the-other-na…
6/6

@Ahmed_Mansoor @GuajajaraSonia @HEBobiwine @JoinPersuasion 7/6: For more on Anna Politkovskaya, read this by my colleague @TanyaLokshina, who wrote how she "will always be a hero for ordinary Chechens. It is largely owing to her that the world knows about crimes against civilians in the course of that dirty war."
hrw.org/news/2016/10/0…