Over 100 personalities, writers and actors come together and ask Putin to release Navalny
More than a hundred writers, actors, journalists, directors and other public figures have signed an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling for an end to the abuse of Alexey Navalny and his release after being arrested for political reasons .
Among the signatories are Svetlana Alexievich, Anne Applebaum, Margaret Atwood, Jude Law, Salman Rushdie, Orhan Pamuk, Herta Muller, Eric Cantona, Olga Tokarczuk, Mario Vargas Llosa.
“As you know, Alexey Navalny is being held in IK-6, one of the harshest penal colonies in your country,” the text addressed to Putin reads.
The letter denounces that “the opponent of the Kremlin is permanently placed in solitary confinement, pressed into a concrete cell without ventilation. He is forbidden to visit his family and make phone calls and … even though he has a fever, he has to stay on his feet all day.”
Therefore, the writers, actors and directors announce that they are joining their voices with those of 600 Russian doctors who have demanded “independent and immediate health care” for Navalny.
“Navalny is serving a prison sentence on charges that would never have been accepted in any independent judicial system. We support the request of the German government, the US authorities and the European Union for his immediate release. It is within his powers”, conclude the signatories, addressing Putin.
