Russian opposition figure Kara-Murza urges Russians from court not to give up after Navalny's death

Life inside Russia's penal colonies for Vladimir Putin's political prisoners

After the still-unexplained death of Alexei Navalny at an Arctic penal colony this month, human rights advocates warn that Russia's political prisoners face an increased risk of dying in "slow motion" under severe conditions.

Putin’s most high-profile prisoner is now Vladimir Kara-Murza

An active campaigner for Russian democracy, Kara-Murza was an ally of Navalny. He is responsible for convincing the West to sanction

Jailed Kremlin critic warns death squad is 'physically eliminating' Putin's fans

He is held at Penal Colony No. 7 in the Siberian city of Omsk as one of many victims of a crackdown against critics of the war and freedom of speech. Appearing in a virtual court hearing on Thursday, he alleged that there is a “death squad” within the Federal Security Service, Moscow’s spy agency, that has been tasked to “physically eliminate political opponents of the Putin regime.”

‘The threat to his life is off the charts’: Ilya Yashin calls on world leaders to secure release of his fellow Russian political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza

Yashin wrote that Alexey Navalny and Vladimir Kara-Murza have “much more in common than it might seem at first glance.” Both politicians, he said, have “created personal problems for Putin’s inner circle”; both have de-facto been declared “enemies of the state” in Russia; both have been subjected to prison conditions that amount to torture; and “most importantly, Putin has tried to kill both of them in the past.”

Pale, drawn and behind bars, what remains of Russian opposition's attempts to rally supporters

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian-UK dual national, is finishing the first year of a 25-year sentence on treason charges.