Thread by @HillelNeuer

BREAKING: The wife of jailed Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza will receive UN Watch's human rights award today and read a message sent by her husband from prison, at the ceremony before an audience of UN diplomats and human rights activists.
unwatch.org/russian-dissid…

“Both Vladimir and I are deeply touched by UN Watch’s decision to bestow on him this high distinction,” said Evgenia Kara-Murza, the Advocacy Coordinator at the Free Russia Foundation. /2

After receiving the award, Ms. Kara-Murza will be meeting in Geneva with United Nations human rights officials, and with the ambassadors from major democracies, to spotlight the plight of her husband and other political prisoners in Russia. /3

Russian opposition leader, renowned journalist, historian, filmmaker, and now political prisoner, Vladimir Kara-Murza is the most brilliant and courageous dissident I have ever met. /4

He was chosen for the Morris Abram Human Rights Award on account of his courageous defense of freedom, liberal democracy and universal human rights. His mission to free the Russian people from dictatorship, and to end Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine, has never been more vital. /5

Vladimir and I spoke weeks before he was arrested, and he accepted my invitation to address the United Nations — if, he said, he would still be free. Vladimir knew that he was in danger because of his open dissent. Tragically, they took him away, and he never did get to speak. /6

He is being honored by UN Watch for persevering against overwhelming odds, and at great personal sacrifice, in opposing the cruel dictatorship of Vladimir Putin, and for pursuing the dream of a free and democratic Russia. /7

@vkaramurza is a contributing writer at the Washington Post, and has worked for the BBC and other media. He directed three documentary films, and served as a visiting fellow at the University of Chicago. /8

A fierce critic of the Russian dictator, Mr. Kara-Murza successfully mobilized numerous democracies to sanction Putin’s cronies for their corruption and human rights abuses. /9

He has testified in parliaments around the world, and, on behalf of UN Watch, before the United Nations Human Rights Council. Because of his dissent, he was poisoned in May 2015 and February 2017, leaving him in a coma and on life support. /10

Despite the danger, he refused to give up his fight for democracy. And now, once again, he is paying the price. /11

On April 11th, hours after he appeared on CNN and criticized the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine, agents arrested Vladimir outside his Moscow home, and took him away. He has been detained ever since. /12

Last month, Vladimir was charged with high treason. If convicted, he could face 20 years in prison. /13

theguardian.com/world/2022/oct…

We appreciate that his wife @ekaramurza is going around the world to fight for his freedom, and that she is making the trip to Geneva for award. Our goal is to highlight his case among the international community, and the plight of other Russian political prisoners as well. /14

A longtime partner of UN Watch, Mr. Kara-Murza has testified for our organization before the United Nations to call out Russia’s abuses, one time confronting Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov in a debate. /15

unwatch.org/russian-justic…

When Russia ran for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, Vladimir Kara-Murza joined UN Watch in trying — unsuccessfully — to stop Putin from winning. /16

unwatch.org/vladimir-kara-…

However, earlier this year, after the war on Ukraine provoked an international backlash, UN Watch spearheaded the campaign that ultimately saw Russia ousted from the council. /17
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On May 12, 2022, speaking on behalf of UN Watch, Evgenia Kara-Murza addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council, at a special session on Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, where she appealed for her husband to be freed. /18

https://twitter.com/HillelNeuer/status/1524753888724676610

We salute Evgenia for her courageous, eloquent and tireless campaign to free her husband. /19

In May, we addressed the United Nations to urge top UN officials to end their silence on Kara-Murza’s arrest and imprisonment — a call that we reiterate today.
@antonioguterres @volker_turk @UN_SPExperts /20
#FreeKaraMurza
unwatch.org/freekaramurza/

We call on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk to demand that Russia release Vladimir Kara-Murza and all prisoners of conscience whose only crime was opposing this war. It is vital that they speak out. /21

On May 2nd, we led a coalition of 25 human rights groups to call on the UN Human Rights Council’s 55 @UN_SPExperts to demand the release of Vladimir Kara-Murza, along with all other prisoners of conscience jailed for protesting Putin’s war in Ukraine. /22
unwatch.org/25-human-right…

UN Watch’s human rights award is named after our founder Ambassador Morris Abram, famed civil rights advocate, diplomat and UN delegate, who in 1963 helped win the landmark US Supreme Court case that granted equality to the votes of African-Americans. /23
facebook.com/MorrisAbramHum…

Previous winners of the prize include Cuban dissident Rosa María Payá; Turkish journalist Yavuz Baydar; Chinese dissident Yang Jianli; Antonio Ledezma, the Mayor of Caracas and former political prisoner; Russian dissident and world chess champion Garry Kasparov... /24

Dr. Massouda Jalal, Afghanistan’s first Minister for Women’s Affairs; and Esther Mujawayo, an activist for victims of the genocide in Rwanda. /25

UN Watch organizes the annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, a key gathering for dissidents, and brings victims to testify before the United Nations Human Rights Council, including from China, Cuba, Egypt, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Sudan and Venezuela. /26