The wife of a dual Russian-British citizen held in Siberia has told Sky News the British government could have said more about his detention.
Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza was arrested near his home in Moscow in April 2022 and found guilty of treason by a Moscow court. Russian April 2023 capital.
The political activist and prominent opposition figure, who claimed he survived two poisonings that he blamed on the country’s authorities, was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The charges stem from a speech he gave in the Arizona House of Representatives in March 2022, condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Talk to the sky Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips Speaking on the show, Evgenia Kara-Murza said: “The British government could have been more outspoken about his two years of unlawful arrest and detention.”
She also said “UK policy on hostages and political prisoners” was “no longer acceptable”.
“By saying we are not engaging, the UK government is sending a very bad signal to citizens around the world and if you end up in a situation like this, [then] Sorry, you’re on your own,” Ms. Kara-Murza said.
She said such a stance was unacceptable in the “civilized world” of the 21st century.
She called for a “different approach” because “the number of hostages and political prisoners is increasing around the world”.
Evgenia Kara-Murza talks to Sky’s Trevor Phillips
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Ms Karamurza also said she was “extremely grateful” for a recent meeting with Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron on the matter.
After the March 1 meeting, she said she was “extremely pleased” it was being held after a long campaign and considered it “a sign of goodwill on his part.”
She said: “He assured me of his support, his willingness, his readiness to fight for Vladimir’s release and to ensure that Vladimir’s case was always made public. So I think, all in all, everything Progressing well.”
Lord Cameron called for Mr Karamurza to be released for “urgent treatment”.
The British Foreign Secretary said in a statement that this “politically motivated conviction” was “regrettable”.
“Mr. Karamurza was imprisoned by the Russian regime on trumped-up charges for his anti-war stance and defense of human rights,” the counterpart said.
The 42-year-old opposition figure denies the charges against him as punishment for defying the Russian president Vladimir Putinlikened the entire process to the show trials under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.
Mrs. Kara-Murza in Switzerland in 2023.Image: Reuters
Last month, he appeared in court via video and claimed State-backed strike teams are ‘physically eliminating’ Putin’s opponents.
Mr Karamurza urged russian Don’t give up after sudden death Alexei Navalny.
Kara-Murza was an aide to Boris Nemtsov, the Russian opposition leader and fierce Putin critic who was assassinated near the Kremlin in 2015.
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He has been serving his sentence in solitary confinement in the Siberian city of Omsk since September 2023.
In January this year, he was transferred to another penal colony in the city and again placed in solitary confinement.
The move was widely seen as an attempt to pressure a man who has been an outspoken critic of the Kremlin and its war in Ukraine even in prison.
Amnesty International said it considered him a prisoner of conscience “because he was convicted solely on the basis of his political beliefs”.
“He should be released immediately and unconditionally,” Amnesty International said.
Trevor Phillips will be joined by Health Secretary Victoria Atkins, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Commonwealth Secretaries of the Exchequer at 8.30am on Sunday Baroness Scotland.
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