In the Midst of Government Crackdown, Supporters Rally for Khodorkovsky’s 50th Birthday
Mikhail Khodorkovsky will be marking his 50th birthday, this Wednesday, June 26, in the prison colony in Karelia where he is held. In honour of the occasion, supporters in Russia and around the world have been rallying to send a strong message of their solidarity with the renowned political prisoner. Later this year, on October 25, Khodorkovsky will mark the tenth anniversary of his imprisonment, and the “Decade of Injustice” campaign will be launched on his website and in events around the world.
So far, over 1,600 supporters have sent birthday cards expressing their solidarity with Khodorkovsky.
A number of NGOs and human rights activists have supported the campaign including various branches of Amnesty International. Messages have been received from Russia, the US, Asia, and across Europe, including from parliamentarians. “We believe in you more than ever!” wrote one supporter from Vienna, Austria. “You are not alone, we are with you” wrote another from Moscow, while a UK-based human rights activist commented that he and his colleagues, “greatly admire your courage and support your fight for justice.”
A page on Khodorkovsky’s website will publish longer birthday greetings from prominent figures worldwide.
Amnesty International Germany has also been running a petition calling for the immediate release of Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev, which has so far received over 7,700 signatures.
In addition, many high profile supporters in Russia have recorded video messages of their personal birthday wishes to Khodorkovsky. The videos will be included in a programme dedicated to Khodorkovsky’s birthday, which will be broadcast on TV Rain.
Khodorkovsky’s son Pavel commented: “It is deeply sad to think of my father spending yet another birthday away from family, and all the more so on his 50th. After a decade of imprisonment – so many wasted years – the solidarity of friends and supporters has never been more important. The fact that thousands of people have demonstrated their support is an invaluable source of strength and inspiration, for him and my family.
For Russia, my father’s imprisonment represents a squandering of the talent we need for a modernised and better country, and the corruption, brutality and abuse needed to maintain the stagnant status quo. As our homeland faces a government crackdown of relentless ferocity and lawlessness, the courage of those celebrating the birthday of Mikhail Khodorkovsky offers hope for a better future for Russia and its people.”
Click here to watch a video of Pavel’s personal birthday greeting to his father.
ACTIVITIES PLANNED AROUND THE WORLD
In Moscow, there are plans for a demonstration with 50 individuals standing in silent protest throughout the city, one for each of Khodorkovsky’s 50 years. Alongside this, a meeting in support of Khodorkovsky has also been organised by human rights campaigner Lev Ponomarev, who was brutally assaulted by law enforcement officers during a raid on his organisation on June 22.
The 9th Khodorkovsky readings took place on June 24, during which a greeting from Khodorkovsky himself was read out. In it, Khodorkovsky wrote:
“I express my deep gratitude to all of you who are consistently demonstrating to our fellow citizens the presence of other values and goals – the values of modern civil society and true patriotism, the patriotism that urges to give, to help, and to act in the interest of the future of our country and our people.”
On June 25, at the Independent Media Centre, there will also be a roundtable discussion on the impact of the Yukos affair, led by Andrei Piontkovsky, the Russian political analyst.
In Paris, a film festival will be held two days after Khodorkovsky’s birthday, on June 28, in honour of those who fight the Kremlin to obtain real freedom and democracy in Russia. The festival will showcase films about political persecution in Russia, including Cyril Tuschi’s documentary “Khodorkovsky”; a film about the death of Sergei Magnitsky, entitled “Justice for Sergei”; as well as a film about the murder of Anna Politkovskaya.
In New York, Khodorkovsky’s son Pavel will host a reception in honour of his father’s birthday, featuring a speech by Russia’s former Prime Minister, Mikhail Kasyanov.
In Berlin, the Berlin Wall Museum will unveil an exhibition on the nearly ten years that Khodorkovsky has spent in prison. The day before Khodorkovsky’s birthday, International Literature Festival Berlin will be publishing their call for a worldwide reading to take place on October 25, the ten-year anniversary of Khodorkovsky’s arrest. The call will be for organisations all around the world to stage public readings on that day of Khodorkovsky’s writings.
In Strasbourg, the ALDE Group will be holding an event timed to coincide with Khodorkovsky’s birthday entitled, “Parliamentarians defend civil society: How to prevent inappropriate restrictions on NGO activities in Europe?” That follows a meeting of the EPP group, during which Giorgi Kandelaki, a Georgian parliamentarian, stated:
“This week we are marking the 50th anniversary of a fighter for freedom, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a political prisoner in Russia. Mr Khodorkovsky has a vision of a free and democratic Russia, a vision that we all share here today. We also believe that a free and democratic Russia is possible, and indeed a free and democratic Russia would make the world a different place. So I want to salute Mr Khodorkovsky…and wish him well. I believe that he will be soon with us, and that the world will be different with him.”
