Event in Leipzig in support of political prisoners in Russia
Submitted by Редакция on 24 May, 2024 - 19:56
On May 25 we invite you to the 'Solidarity zone' event in Leipzig (13.00, gallery Jochen Hempel, Spinnereistraße 7) in support of political prisoners in Russia. It will be held in the framework of the exhibition 'freedom is a verb' by Alla Gutnikova.
The program:
- presentation of Solidarity zone
- speeches by ex-political prisoners
- poetry reading
- donation box
- prisoners' treats: chifir and koryak cake
Chifir is an exceptionally strong tea, brewed in Soviet and post-Soviet prisons. Koryak is a DIY prison cake made of crushed cookies mixed with condensed milk (vegan).
Solidarity zone is a horizontal organization supporting those arrested for anti-war actions in Russia. Organization currently support 19 prisoners by finding lawyers, arranging parcels, and sharing information about their cases. Solidarity zone has no permanent source of funding, therefore your donations are of critical importance.
Event will start with a presentation from Solidarity zone, followed by the speeches of ex-political prisoners.
Alla Gutnikova and Natasha Tyshkevich spent a year under house arrest for their journalist work together with two colleagues from DOXA Magazine, Armen Aramyan and Vladimir Metelkin.
Lev Skoryakin was persecuted for an action near the FSB building against political repressions. He fled to Kyrgyzstan, was detained there and put under arrest, then released, but a month later he was kidnapped by the Russian special forces and tortured at the Moscow airport after extradition.
Denis Kozak was persecuted for a comment on social media. He fled to Kazakhstan, but was detained there and spent a year in a Kazakh pre-trial detention center on an extradition request from Russia.
All four of them are on Russia’s federal wanted list. With the help of human rights activists they all managed to escape to Germany and live here with a humanitarian visa and Reiseausweis für Ausländer.
Finally, poets from Russia with a migration background will read their texts. Among them are Alla Gutnikova, Inna Krasnoper, Karina Papp, Nikita Sungatov, Roman Osminkin, and Natasha Tyshkevich.