Russia
Vladimir Kara-Murza is a Russian opposition activist and journalist who was serving a 25-year prison sentence for criticizing Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. On August 1, he was released in a historic prisoner exchange between Russia and the West. A day later, Kara-Murza gave his first major interview after being released to the Russian-English media organization Meduza. Translated excerpts follow:
I was absolutely convinced that I would never get out, that I would never see my family again. And so for several days now I have felt as if I were watching a movie. An absolutely surreal feeling. . . .
I knew even before my arrest that, according to international law, prolonged solitary confinement is equivalent to torture, cruel and inhuman treatment. Moreover, prolonged confinement is considered to be fifteen days in a row. I sat in solitary confinement for almost eleven months nonstop. I admit honestly, before prison, before I went through this experience myself, I could not understand: What is torture in this? On the contrary, I thought, you sit alone, no one bothers you, you write what you want, read books — it is certainly better than sitting with criminals in barracks. Only a person who does not know what prison is could think so. It is truly torture.
When people talk about torture, many imagine needles being shoved under their nails or being hit with an electric-shock device. But moral and psychological torture can be stronger than physical torture. And I can say that complete isolation from any human communication is absolutely unbearable. Man, as Aristotle said, is a social creature. We need communication with each other just like food, drink, air. When you are completely cut off from this, then very quickly — I will say frankly — you start to go crazy. You lose concentration, your thoughts start to get confused, some kind of nonsense comes to mind. . . .
Writing in prison is also impossible — paper and a pen are issued only for an hour and a half a day. The rest of the time you either walk around the small cell, two by three meters, from corner to corner. Or try to read, as much as possible. Or just sit and look at the wall. And you sit on a small stool, because at five in the morning the bunk is attached to the wall and is only unfastened at nine in the evening, when it is time to go to bed. . . .
In the two years and four months that I spent in prison, I was able to talk to my wife on the phone once and to my three children twice. They gave me fifteen minutes to make a call, and my wife . . . stood with a stopwatch so that no child could talk to their father for more than five minutes, so that everyone had these five minutes. This is torture for the families, not just for us. It is very important for people to understand that it is much harder for the families of political prisoners than for us. Because we consciously fought against this regime, we understood the consequences. And our families are punished only because they are close to us. . . .
The only human communication was with the lawyers. . . . It is clear that our conversation was being monitored, the communication was through a telephone receiver, through glass. But it was important to see a bright human face. And it was very important to talk. And so all my communication was in letters. That is why I always say and will never tire of repeating: Write to political prisoners. It is only a few minutes from an ordinary busy life. But you cannot imagine, words cannot describe how much light and warmth is in this small sheet of paper that the guard passes through the feeder. . . .
I would describe the regime in Omsk as something between a concentration camp and a madhouse. It is a regime taken to the point of absurdity, absolutely hypertrophied. Everything is down to the last decimal point, down to the second. . . . You have to keep your hands behind your back, even if you take two steps. A step to the right, a step to the left — not allowed. An extra movement — not allowed. Constant searches, constant performances — it is very important to keep your emotions under control in prison, but, I admit, it is not always possible. . . .
You know, I’m saying all this now and I understand that words can’t even come close to describing what a person experiences. When you’re constantly in this, day after day, week after week, month after month. In this “closet,” with these constant searches, with cameras constantly on, with this walking around with your hands behind your back. You’re constantly on edge, because you’re being “caught” everywhere. . . .
It all started last Tuesday, July 23 — it was the longest week of my life, as if a year had passed. Suddenly the doors to my cell opened. . . . Two uniformed operatives entered and took me to the service office of the PKT building. On the wall was a large portrait of Putin, on the table lay a blank sheet of paper, a pen, and a sample. They said: “Vladimir Vladimirovich, sit down and write.” I looked — and it was a petition for pardon addressed to citizen Putin: “I fully admit my guilt, I repent of my actions,” and so on.
At first I thought they were playing a joke on me, and I laughed. But these people turned out to have no sense of humor. I said that I was not going to write anything. The operative asked why. I explained: “First, I do not consider citizen Putin a legitimate president, I consider him a usurper, a dictator, and a murderer. And second, I am not guilty of anything. I am here solely for my views, for my convictions, for my statements against the war.” They asked me five more times, and then took me back to the cell.
Two days later, on Thursday, July 25, the operatives come in again. They take me to the same office, but there is another piece of paper there. The operative says to me: “Vladimir Vladimirovich . . . make a statement about our president, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. . . .”
On this piece of paper I wrote everything I think — that I do not consider Putin a legitimate president, but consider him a usurper, that he bears personal responsibility for the death of Boris Nemtsov, for the death of Alexei Navalny and for the death of thousands of peaceful citizens of Ukraine, including children. And that I do not intend to admit any guilt, because the criminals are those who unleashed this aggressive war.
I didn’t understand what was happening at all. On the night from Saturday to Sunday, from July 27 to 28, at three o’clock, the doors opened with a bang, operatives and a convoy burst in, some in uniform, some in civilian clothes, which I saw for the first time. The prison warden was standing nearby. “You have five minutes, get dressed, you are leaving us today.” I was absolutely sure that they were taking me away to be shot. I asked: “What, in the nearest forest when trying to escape, as is customary with you?” They didn’t answer.
But they didn’t bring me to the forest, but to the airport in Omsk. And I can’t tell you what a person feels when he has spent almost a year in a small “closet” and suddenly finds himself in the middle of an airport. Yes, in handcuffs, under guard, but in an ordinary airport, where people are walking around, families with children. A feeling of absolute surrealism. . . .
We arrived in Germany late at night. Chancellor Scholz met us at the ramp. We were gathered in a small conference room, where we spoke with the chancellor through an interpreter. . . .
We thanked them on behalf of everyone and said that we understood that this decision was difficult for the German government. In a democratic country, where power depends on public opinion, it is very difficult politically to release a murderer who shot a man in the center of the capital and received a life sentence for it. From my point of view (and I told the chancellor about this), in a democracy there are many very difficult decisions. It’s simple in a dictatorship, where everything is done at the click of one person. But for me the difference between democracy and dictatorship is that for a democracy nothing can be more important than human life. I told the chancellor: “Today you saved sixteen human lives.”
Venezuela
President Nicolás Maduro, backed by the regime’s National Election Council, maintains that he won the Venezuelan presidential election on July 28, despite clear evidence that the contest was stolen. The opposition has provided credible voting data to prove that its candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, won more than two-thirds of the vote. Opposition leader María Corina Machado has been crossing the country to lead massive protests. Though now in hiding, she posted this speech to her TikTok account on August 6. Translated excerpts follow:
Dear Venezuelans,
This is María Corina, and today I want to transmit to each one of you my great pride in you and yours for what this citizenry has [done], that has already made history and that is also witnessed and admired by the world. What we have achieved is monumental. One by one, we have overcome giant obstacles, we have challenged the forces of evil, and one by one we have achieved our goals.
First off, we awakened a country that had been disappointed and discouraged. We united a nation around the common values of family, decent work, dignity, truth, and love. Second, we succeeded in organizing citizen primaries that are the expression of our people’s determination to take control of our destiny and achieve profound change. Third, and despite all of the provocations, all of the abuses that we were subjected to, we managed to reach July 28 with a candidate who represents all of the democratic forces: Edmundo González Urrutia. Fourth, without the regime detecting it, we assembled the strongest voting-defense structure in our history. . . . With hundreds of thousands of volunteers and with our comanditos [local election-monitoring units], we were at every polling station, protecting, accompanying, helping one another; asserting our popular sovereignty through the vote.
It is very important that we all remember every day that our struggle to liberate Venezuela has various stages and that we have been successfully completing them one by one. In the stages we completed, we moved from despair to a formidable citizen organization, from a world that did not believe in us to the entire world — the planet — admiring and recognizing our victory. We have just completed this feat. I repeat, the world is dumbfounded by our enormous electoral triumph, with evidence that is foolproof and available for those who want to view and verify it. And this was made possible by our heroic citizens, the witnesses, the members of the election board, the brave journalists, the youth, the mothers, those mobilized in the street.
And from there a truth has emerged that no one — no one — can change: Edmundo González Urrutia is the elected president of Venezuela.
We are now entering the fifth stage: defending this truth and asserting our unstoppable willpower. Nobody said that this would be easy, but let it be clear to the world: There is no turning back. This is irreversible and it is to the end. No one in this formidable citizen movement, that has united millions of Venezuelans inside and outside the country, can abandon the struggle. We are all necessary, wherever we are. We all had and have a very important role to play in this stage and in the stages that come after. In the face of adversity and evil, we have to shield ourselves in those virtues that have made this movement an invincible feat.
First, unity and steadfastness, because united we are invincible. They want to intimidate us so that we do not communicate, because isolated we would be much weaker, and that will not happen. We will always find ways to stay in communication, organized, and active, because here we take care of each other in all scenarios, both in the streets and on social networks. Fear will not paralyze us. We will always, as we have done so far, overcome it. . . .
Second, perseverance and resilience. Always staying constant and active does not mean always being in the street. There are moments to go out, moments to meet and show all our strength and determination and embrace each other, just as there are moments of preparation to organize ourselves, to communicate and coordinate with our allies around the world, who are many. . . .
Third, trust and faith. Every stage in this struggle develops in time, and that is part of our strategy. . . . Most important is for all of us to have faith — deep trust in each other and in our movement. I trust you, each and every one of you, my dear Venezuelans. Do not let them intimidate, much less depress or frighten or demoralize you, the dark forces that seek to cut us off from one another and sow fear. Do not allow it. Let us help our families and neighbors to not be victims of these campaigns of terror. Leave those aside. We have the intelligence, the steadfastness, and the serenity of this movement, because remember, this is a spiritual struggle between good and evil, and God is with us.
We are going to achieve it. May God bless us.
Bangladesh
Student-led antigovernment protests began in early July initially against quotas in civil service jobs, but turned into a larger movement against the repressive rule of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party. Hasina fled to India on August 5. Student protest leaders chose Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel laureate known as the “banker to the poor,” to be interim chief advisor. Yunus gave this speech on August 8, the day of his swearing-in ceremony, which appears in translation below:
Today is a day of glory for us. . . . I wholeheartedly appreciate and admire the young generation, who have made this possible. They are standing right beside me. They have saved this country and given it a new life. . . .
We must preserve this freedom and every home must benefit from it. Otherwise, this freedom will be meaningless. . . . People must know that the meaning of a free Bangladesh is the change in themselves, their opportunities, and their children’s future. Everyone must understand this. . . .
Today’s young generation . . . were able to free us, they will be able to build the nation as they desire. And the whole world will learn how the youth can take the responsibility of the country into their hands and change it as they see fit. I always advise others to give up the old ways of thinking; we cannot be free with a backward mentality. This is not only relevant for Bangladesh, but it is a universal truth. The power and creativity of the youth need to be used. It should not be limited to textbooks only. Power and creativity should be expressed. . . .
There is something called government in Bangladesh, but the citizens didn’t have any faith left in it. They think of it as a machinery of oppression and suppression. Whenever the government gets the chance, it only exploits. This is the image of the government in Bangladesh. But it is not the right image. The citizens must be proud of their government, they must believe that their government will help and protect them and will be available for them in times of need. But the government never did any of it for them.
The government we will form will protect the citizens, and they will have faith in their government. The citizens will not be forced to do it, rather they will do it willingly and they will think of the representatives of the government as their own. They will know that this person will protect them. We must bring this faith back in the citizens. Then the citizens will work with us, they are afraid to do so now. . . .
Chaos and violence are the enemies of development and progress.
They are the enemies of the new journey that we have begun. . . . Please save the country from chaos and violence so that we can follow the path that our students have shown us. Bangladesh has the potential to become a very beautiful country. We have ruined its potential, but now we have to bring it back.
Tunisia
Tunisian authorities have disqualified, detained, prosecuted, or imprisoned more than forty opposition candidates and political dissidents in the run-up to the presidential election on October 6. Ten disqualified candidates, many of whom have been convicted and banned from running for office ever again, released an open letter on July 31 denouncing President Kais Saied’s political repression. Excerpts follow:
Dear People of Tunisia,
Our country will be undergoing an upcoming election . . . and violations have multiplied, affecting most serious candidates who are entitled to compete in the elections. These candidates are faced with restrictions with the aim of excluding them, in order to clear the way for a specific candidate [President Saied], which is affecting the very credibility of the process. . . .
We denounce the arbitrary security harassment and restrictions that have targeted many of those involved in the electoral campaigns. . . . We demand the release of the detainees and the return of the endorsements that were confiscated. . . .
We hold the electoral commission, which announced full jurisdiction over this process, responsible for complicating the procedures and conditions, contrary to the applicable texts and electoral law, in addition to the serious violations recorded and the suspicious silence that accompanied them in the past days, despite the cries of alarm and denunciation raised by many candidates. . . . This unjustified silence from the commission amounts to collusion with a hidden agenda aimed at turning the electoral race into a farce and a crime against the Tunisian people. . . .
All Tunisian media outlets are urged to fulfill their role in informing and discussing electoral programs and organizing debates among candidates in a spirit of objectivity, fairness, and equal opportunities. Public media, funded by taxpayers’ money, is required to move away from being a presidential media organ by opening platforms both centrally and regionally in an atmosphere of freedom, independence, and equality, while respecting professional ethics and the public’s right to access reliable information pertaining to all candidates. . . .
We call on the Tunisian judiciary to uphold justice and fairness and to operate with independence without any political pressure, and to allow individuals imprisoned in political cases their constitutional right to run for elections. We emphasize that the Tunisian people alone have the authority to exclude any candidate from the race, and this should be done through the ballot boxes. . . .
We urge the Tunisian people to exercise their citizenship and constitutional rights in endorsing and voting for any candidate they deem worthy, in freedom to choose the next president of the country, thus blocking attempts to drain the electoral scene and impose guardianship and exclusion to pave the way for a single candidate. We insist that democratic elections are the only means capable of extricating the country from its political crisis and resolving conflicts based on programs and ideas, rather than on defamation and exclusion.
We further stress that if there is a lack of minimum respect for the basic conditions for fair competition, and if there is a tendency to use official institutions to directly and blatantly influence the nomination process or future stages of the electoral process, while ensuring equality in dealing with all competitors, then we fear that the elections may turn into a mere formal play lacking any credibility, which we refuse to be a part of. . . .
Long live Tunisia, free and proud.
Uganda
More than a hundred youth protesters were arrested during anticorruption protests in late July. Ugandans demanded the resignations of Speaker Anita Among and other parliamentarians accused of graft, as well as the reduction of parliamentarians’ disproportionately high salaries. Riot police and the military were deployed, and used excessive force to stop demonstrations. Busingye Kabumba, a professor and columnist, published a letter to a figurative judicial officer in the Observer on July 31, excerpted below:
I dedicate today’s column to all young persons who currently serve as judicial officers. . . .
From the relative obscurity and tenuous existence, you were elevated to the status of “Your Worship.” I am sure it felt strange at first, but you soon came to embrace it — and the power that comes with it. By a stroke of your pen, you can determine the fate of hundreds, even thousands, of Ugandans. . . .
With the power of your new position came relative material comfort. You have an extremely generous (and tax-exempt) salary, access to a vehicle supplied and fueled by the State, as well as many other perks designed to insulate you from the danger of being compromised by litigants and other persons. Nonetheless, Your Worship, please remember that while you might personally be temporarily insulated from the vagaries of Uganda by virtue of your office . . . you ultimately remain very much a part of the ecosystem of suffering that is life in Uganda.
And it is precisely these challenges which the current “Gen Z” protests in Uganda are aimed at confronting and dismantling — the corruption which lowers the quality of all aspects of life in this country. The protests against corruption are aimed at creating a Uganda in which all can prosper — in which all have a chance at the good life.
Critically, they are protests by persons like you. Young Ugandans, with whom you will interact for a very long time. . . . They are your friends, classmates, brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, nieces — and critically, your fellow citizens. Unfortunately, whenever they have attempted to peacefully exercise their constitutional and democratic right to assemble and protest the pitiful state of Uganda, they have been met with the strong arm of the State.
They have been unreasonably arrested, and charged with all manner of silly and patently unconstitutional (and colonial) offenses such as being “idle and disorderly,” “common nuisance,” and in one case even “attempted hate speech.” These would be laughable if the stakes were not so critical. . . .
Your Worship, you are duty bound, when confronted with these cases, to jealously guard the value of liberty. . . . The right to the liberty of the individual is next only to the individual’s right to life itself. Liberty is as crucial in a free and democratic society as breath is to life. . . . The liberty of one is the liberty of all. The liberty of one must never be curtailed lightly, wantonly, or even worse, arbitrarily. . . .
Long after [the current administration is] gone, you might have to contend with your fellow young Ugandans who have been introduced to the stench of prison merely for peacefully exercising their constitutional rights.
NATO
For 75 years, NATO has been committed to defending democracy, individual liberty, human rights, and the rule of law across the West. The 32 member countries gathered in Washington, D.C., from 9–11 July 2024 to commemorate the anniversary and address contemporary security challenges. NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg gave this speech at the Washington Summit on July 9. Excerpts follow:
Seventy-five years ago, in this very room, NATO’s founding document, the Washington Treaty, was signed. Our Alliance was created by people who had lived through two devastating world wars. They knew only too well the horror, the suffering, and the terrible human cost of war. They were determined that this should never happen again.
So, they founded NATO. With a clear purpose: to preserve peace and safeguard freedom. A solemn promise. An ironclad commitment to protect each other. One for all, and all for one. . . .
Allies showed clarity and determination then. As we must continue to do now. Russia’s war against Ukraine is the biggest security crisis in generations. Ukraine has shown remarkable courage. And NATO Allies have provided unprecedented support.
But let’s be honest. Not even our support to Ukraine has been a given. It is not straightforward. Because our support comes with costs and risks. The reality is: There are no cost-free options with an aggressive Russia as a neighbor. There are no risk-free options in a war. And remember: The biggest cost and the greatest risk will be if Russia wins in Ukraine.
We cannot let that happen.
Not only would it embolden President Putin; it would also embolden other authoritarian leaders in Iran, North Korea, and China. They all support Russia’s brutal war. They all want NATO to fail. So the outcome of this war will shape global security for decades to come.
The time to stand for freedom and democracy is now. The place is Ukraine. . . .
Over the last 75 years, the transatlantic relationship has weathered many storms. We are bound together not only by interests, but also by history, tradition, and values. But our Alliance should not be taken for granted. NATO was not a given in 1949. It is not a given now. And it will not be a given in the decades to come.
Everyone in this room has a responsibility, as political leaders, as experts, as citizens. We must show the same courage and determination in the future, as was demonstrated in the past when NATO was founded and shaped. . . .
Our Alliance is not perfect. And we will continue to face difficult decisions in the future. I do not know what the next crisis will be. But I do know that we are at our best when we take difficult decisions with political courage, and moral clarity.
And I know that we are stronger and safer together, in NATO.
Copyright © 2024 National Endowment for Democracy and Johns Hopkins University Press