Justice and Accountability for Putin's Political Prisoners
RWCHR hosts major international gathering in Canadian capitol
[pictured] Russian dissidents and human rights defenders stand alongside leading Parliamentarians from all political parties at a press conference at the National Press Gallery
The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights hosted Russia's top human rights leaders and dissidents in Ottawa for the launch of our landmark report on "The Kremlin's Political Prisoners."

The RWCHR spearheaded this major advocacy day in solidarity with the Russian people and i n partnership with the International Coalition to Free the Kremlin's Political Prisoners – of which the RWCHR is a founding member – and with leading Parliamentarians from all parties.

The report documents the Kremlin's unprecedented persecution and prosecution of political prisoners, and highlights particular cases and causes, including political dissidents, Ukrainian citizens, ethnic and religious minorities, LGBT individuals, and human rights defenders.

The report also identifies 16 individual architects of the Kremlin's repression and calls for their targeted sanctioning under Magnistky legislation.
The advocacy and solidarity had wide international resonance, and was heavily featured in national media coverage:

For an Op-Ed in the Ottawa Citizen by RWCHR Chair Irwin Cotler and leading Russian public intellectual Vladimir Kara-Murza: Click Here

For an article in the Globe and Mail: Click Here

For an article in the National Post: Click Here

For an article in the CBC: Click Here

For an article in The Toronto Star: Click Here

For coverage by Democracy Digest: Click Here
Expert Witness Testimony

As part of our advocacy in solidarity with the Russian people, the RWCHR organized with the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development a special hearing on the human rights situation in Russia. This important Russia briefing was nationally televised.

A video of the testimony before the Foreign Affairs Committee is available Here.
Vladimir Kara-Murza, RWCHR Senior Fellow, leading Russian public intellectual, and courageous dissident who survived two assassination attempts for his work, testifies before Committee.

Expert witnesses and the RWCHR team engage with the Committee Members
Press Conference

The RWCHR's major press conference [pictured] at the National Press Gallery was a pivotal platform for our engagement with Canada's top journalists and broader public.

Speakers described Putin's unprecedented persecution and prosecution of political prisoners, documenting how over the last four years alone, there has been a six-fold increase in the numbers of verified political prisoners from 50 to close to 300, with the reality on the ground expected to be even more pernicious.

Said Professor Cotler: "These are facts and figures that would make most other despots blush. We have identified the individual architects of repression, and are calling for their targeted sanctioning under Magnitsky legislation. Naming and shaming these human rights abusers is a crucial expression of solidarity with their victims and of ending the culture of impunity that underpins such criminality."

The victims of Kremlin repression identified cover the spectrum of society: political dissenters, civil society leaders, journalists, Ukainian citizens, LGBT individuals, religious and ethnic minorities - and any who dare to defy Putin's despotic dictums - are especially at risk.

Professor Cotler also announced his joining the Schevchenko legal defence tam as international counsel, and the filing of a formal complaint to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to address and redress her jailing.

To watch our nationally televised press conference: Click Here
High-level Meetings with Political Leaders

The RWCHR convened meetings with Canada's political leadership, wherein Russian human rights defenders shared their struggle for justice and how Canada can play a leadership role in that regard.

Accordingly, dissidents joined the RWCHR in encouraging Parliament and Government to act on our landmark report calling for the targeted sanctioning under Magnitsky laws of the Kremlin's individual architects repression.

As Kara-Murza put it, "the time has come for all governments that value freedom to take action. If we wish to free the Kremlin's political prisoners, we must sanction their jailors."

High-level Meetings included:

  • Office of the Prime Minister of Canada

  • Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

  • Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition

  • Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Human Rights Subcommittee

  • Leading Parliamentarians from all of the major parties


To read our landmark report on "The Kremlin's Political Prisoners: Advancing a Political Agenda by Crushing Dissent": Click Here