A columnist and vocal critic of the Kremlin was arrested in Moscow after he claimed the war in Ukraine would be the end of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reign, his wife said in a social media post Monday.
The arrest of Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post contributor known for his criticism of Putin, on unspecified charges is the latest attempt to punish anti-Kremlin rhetoric, Evgenia Kara-Murza, the columnist’s wife, said.
“Twice have the Russian authorities tried to kill my husband for advocating for sanctions against thieves and murderers,” Evgenia Kara-Murza said. “Now they want to throw him in prison for calling their bloody war a WAR. I demand my husband’s immediate release!”
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Fred Ryan, the CEO of the Washington Post, called for Kara-Murza’s release and applauded his bravery.
“Following poisonings and other grave threats, this outrageous detention is the latest move in Vladimir Putin’s ongoing effort to silence Kara-Murza and hide the truth about the atrocities Putin is committing in the Russian people’s name,” Ryan told the Hill. “No one should be deceived by the Russian government’s trumped-up charges and smears, and Kara-Murza should be released immediately.”
Vladimir Kara-Murza’s arrest followed his virtual appearance on CNN, during which he publicly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and said the global backlash the country received would bring an end to Putin.
“This regime that is in power today, it is not just autocratic … It is a regime of murders,” Kara-Murza said Monday. “It is important to say it out loud. And it is really tragic. I have no other word for this.”
Kara-Murza accused the Russian government of attempting to poison him twice prior to his interview. He was a longtime friend of Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated in 2015.
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The Russian government has increased censorship of its media by shutting down and arresting journalists who have criticized and reported information that had not been previously approved by the Kremlin. A Russian producer was detained for 14 hours last month after rushing on to a live feed with a sign that warned viewers that the reporting was a lie.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February, has caused over four million refugees to flee Ukraine.
