Evgeniya Kara-Murza: her husband has one piece of furniture in his cell

In April 2023, Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in a penal colony for alleged high treason and the so-called fake news about the activities of the Russian army. He is serving a sentence in penal colony No. 7 in Omsk, Siberia. His wife Yewgeniya also runs opposition activities and took over some of her husband's duties after his arrest.

When asked what she knew about her husband's situation, she replied: “For the last seven months, Vladimir has been kept in a solitary cell, which is six meters square, with a bed that is attached to the wall from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.”

– It only has one stool without a backrest. It's his only piece of furniture. There is one window that is always closed. He can read for an hour and a half a day. Then he gets letters. He can spend 90 minutes a day on a small walk, she added.

She explained that her husband did not interact with other inmates. – The only contact is his lawyer, who can still visit him a few times a week. Apart from him, she doesn't contact anyone, she reported.

Yevgeniya said the last time she spoke to her husband on the phone was in the summer of 2023. – The last time I saw him was in April 2022 – she mentioned and recalled that she went with him to France, where he participated in the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe. – He flew from Paris to Moscow, and I returned to the United States to be with my children. That was the last time I saw him, she explained.

Jewgienia Kara-Murza said in a conversation with Marcin Wrona that “her husband's activity was very public.” – For many years he was in opposition to the regime in the Kremlin. Since 2010, my husband has been involved in the campaign, trying to get the Magnitsky Act adopted around the world, she said.

– This act assumes the imposition of sanctions on people who violate human rights. It all started with those responsible for the murder of Sergei Magnitsky in a Moscow prison in 2009. Since then, 35 countries have adopted this act, she explained.

– For this very public, direct, clear and strong activity, my husband became a target of this regime. In 2015, three months after the assassination of Boris Nemtsov in Moscow, he was poisoned for the first time in retaliation for his political activity. He was in a coma then – she recalled and pointed out that another attempt on his life took place in 2017.

In response to the comment that her husband's current situation is very similar to that of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in February 2024, she said that she had been fearing for Vladimir's life since 2015.

– I have known for many years that the Kremlin authorities see my husband as a person who poses a personal threat. When it comes to very harsh treatment, the case of Vladimir shows the situation in Russia. Thousands of people have been subjected to administrative punishment or criminal trials for opposing the regime in Russia, said Evgeniya Kara-Murza.

– I still find it difficult to accept this, but based on recent investigations, since 2018, 116,000 Russian citizens have been subjected to penalties in response to their actions in opposition to the regime – she added.