The Cost of Dissent: Testimonies of Russia’s Political Repression
The United States joined Estonia, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom to organize a Human Rights Council side event highlighting the impact of the Russian Federation's reprisals against journalists, members of the opposition, and ordinary Russians who dare voice dissenting opinions.
Keynote panelists were Evgenia Kara-Murza, Advocacy Director of the Free Russia Foundation and wife of opposition politician and activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, Kirill Koroteev, Head of International Legal Practice, Agora and International Human Rights Group, and Mariana Katzarova, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation.
Ambassador Riia Salsa-Audiffren of Estonia and Moderator Imogen Foulkes lead the discussion with an audience of diplomats, civil society and the media, with closing remarks with Ambassador Marc Bichler of Luxembourg. The September 22 event at the United Nations Office at Geneva also focused on what steps the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms can take to address the situation.