On April 19 in Geneva, Switzerland, human rights NGOs Amnesty International France, Amnesty International Switzerland, the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and Russie-Libertes hosted an event dedicated to Russia’s political prisoners including Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina.

The packed event began with a screening of the French documentary “Kremlin’s prisoner”, which focuses on Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s case and was previously broadcast by ARTE channel in 2008.

The screening was followed by a debate on the topic of “Who are the political prisoners in Russia?”, which was moderated by Radio Télévision Suisse’s Isabelle Cornaz and speakers from Amnesty International France Anne Nerdrum, the leader of the UK’s ‘Speak Up!’movement Andrey Sidelnikov, Russie-Libertés’ Alexis Prokopiev, freed Pussy Riot member Yekaterina Samutsevich (via video conference), and Khodorkovsky’s spokesperson in France, Boris Durande.

Samutsevich spoke of the unlawful imprisonment of her band members and that of Khodorkovsky, stating

“Of course, Khodorkovsky and Pussy Riot are not to be compared, as Khodorkovsky is not an artist, but they both fight for freedom in Russia and they both are in camps because of this fight“.

The evening was completed with musical performances by “Orties” from France and “Barto” from Russia who called for the release of Pussy Riot and all political prisoners in Russia.
Online report of the event by Russie-Libertes.

Video conference with freed Pussy Riot member Yekaterina Samutsevich