A Parisian event in support of all Russian political prisoners took place last Friday, October 25, marking to-the-day the tenth anniversary of Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s arrest in autumn 2003.

The successful gathering, supported by Amnesty International France (AIF), the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Ligue des Droits de l’Homme (LDH), Action des Chrétiens pour l’Abolition de la Torture (ACAT) and Russie-Libertés, in partnership with Mediapart, was sold out, with around 200 attendees gathered together on a houseboat.

All the NGOs represented called for the immediate release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the imprisoned Pussy Riot band members, the Greenpeace activists, and the ‘Bolotnaya square’ defendants.

The event was organised as a discussion forum, moderated by Michel Eltchaninoff, deputy chief redactor of the monthly magazine Philosophie, with testimonies given by:

• Galia Ackermann, a journalist, writer and expert. Her speech mentioned Mikhail Khodorkovsky at length and as well as his recent new book launch in Paris.
• Zara Mourtazalieva, a young woman from Chechnya, who was imprisoned for 8 years in a labour camp in Mordovia. Mikhail Khodorkovsky had sent her a letter of support as her prison term was coming to an end.
• Zoïa Svetova, a journalist from the Russian newsmagazine The New Times, winner of the Sakharov Prize and a long-time supporter of Mikhail Khodorkovsky.  Svetova’s had a strong and moving speech dedicated to Khodorkovsky and stated that she was “very optimistic” he would be released in August 2014.

Other contributions included the actress, Olga Kokorina, reading extracts both from Nadezhda Tolokonnikova’s open letter as well as the exchange of letters between Khodorkovsky and Lyudmila Ulitskaya.

A selection of photos from the ‘Russian visionaries’ exhibition decorated the boat.

Khodorkovsky’s books in French, including his latest ‘A Russian Prisoner’, were available for sale, with many copies sold.

The evening concluded with performances from Vassya Oblomov, the prominent Russian singer, and ‘Anything Maria’, the French music band.

Among prominent guests were Sergei Guriev, Isabelle Dumont, and a number of Russia related representatives from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

View the event on Facebook

A report of the event by the French public national TV channel France 3 is HERE