Yevgenia Kara-Murza, the
wife of Vladimir Kara-Murza and Yevgeny,
I really appreciate your time tonight.
So your husband was in court today.
I know it was a pretrial hearing
and then his detention
period gets extended.
What can you tell us about where his case
even stands right now?
Good evening
and thank you very much
for inviting me here tonight.
My husband's
pretrial detention
has indeed been extended by the trial.
The actual trial is about to start.
It's going to be held
within one
to two weeks,
according to Vladimir's lawyer in Moscow.
And so we are waiting for
for it to begin.
And as you do this, I know you you know,
you think about your husband is,
as you know,
stood up
for what he thinks is right
as an opposition leader in Moscow.
Do you think there's any chance
that he could be released
while Putin is still in power?
I do not believe that the court
will somehow decide that
that my husband is innocent,
although he, of course, is,
because there is no justice
system left in Russia,
no independent justice system
left in Russia.
And courts in Russia are a sham.
So I am absolutely convinced
that Vladimir will be sentenced.
The question is how many years?
But even that is really irrelevant
under the circumstances. All right.
What you're saying is
you can put a number on it,
but as long as Putin's there,
the no, the number means nothing.
I know that obviously he has,
as you say, had survived two poisonings.
He has been through an incredible amount
as an opposition leader.
How is he doing right
now, as far as you understand?
I mean, we see him here in these
the cages that they allow someone
who is
appearing in a trial
or any kind of a court
hearing to appear in.
So that's really
the only images that we have.
How is he doing?
Health wise, as far as you understand?
Now,
He recently spent several
days in solitary confinement
in a disciplinary cell
for demanding his rights to daily walks
and while in that solitary confinement,
he developed
the same numbness in his extremities
that he experienced
after the second poisoning in 2015
when his peripheral
when he had peripheral nerve damage.
So basically, the similar symptoms
are beginning to
he's beginning experiencing
same symptoms.
And he did see a neurologist
because of all the noise that we made
when we learned about his conditions.
He's healthy
and he was diagnosed with polyneuropathy.
So
I understand that the conditions
of his detention,
including this solitary confinement,
are definitely not good for his health
after the two poisonings.
That's experienced in the past.
And I understand that
the symptoms are coming back
in
in a big
part because he's
been deprived of movement
and because of those terrible conditions
in prison where he's
he was held
in solitary confinement
in very similar conditions
as Alexei Navalny with his bed, that
it gets affixed to the wall from 6 a.m.
to 10 p.m..
And there is only one
small stool in the cell
and the only piece of furniture
and no daily walks.
So that definitely is not good for
anyone's health.
Not to mention
someone went through two point leads
and before you go, Yevgenia.
The Biden administration
has just imposed sanctions
on a number of Russians
connected to your husband's detention.
And obviously they did this
after quite some time.
They have finally done it.
Do you believe at this point
that that will change anything
Well, first of all, I want
to say
that I am very grateful
to everyone who pushed
for these sanctions,
and I am very grateful to the U.S.
government
for actually finally adopting them.
I believe that in my husband's case,
someone who has been fighting
for the introduction
of the Magnitsky legislation
around the world
for over a decade,
it is only fitting
that such sanctions
should be applied
to those implicated in the unlawful
prosecution and persecution
of my husband to date
as to their effect.
I don't believe
that they will change
the outcome of the trial.
But I do believe that these sanctions
send a very clear signal
to the Russian authorities
that the situation
with human rights in
Russia is being watched
and that the free world
is concerned
about human rights violations
happening in Russia.
And I'm very grateful for that attention.
All right.
We'll give you any
I appreciate your time.
We're grateful to you for joining us.
Thank you.