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