Parliamentarians from the Council of Europe’s 47 member states have gone online this week to send birthday cards to Mikhail Khodorkovsky before his 50^th birthday on June 26. They join over 1,500 supporters worldwide who have so far sent cards expressing solidarity with the Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience.

A page on this website gives well-wishers the chance to send a personalised greeting, to be printed in Russia and presented to Khodorkovsky’s parents by his spokesperson, Olga Pispanen, at a ceremony at the Koralovo Lyceum to take place on Wednesday. The Lyceum was set up by Khodorkovsky in 1994 to provide an education to orphans, victims of terrorism and children of military serviceman, and continues to be supported by his parents, Boris and Marina, who will accept the cards and pass on the birthday wishes to their son in the penal colony.

Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the continent’s watchdog for democracy, the rule of law and human rights, selected a design from the three winning entries submitted in a competition run on this website, and wrote messages of support and encouragement to Khodorkovsky.