An exiled Russian Opposition MP has told the ABC he has “no doubt” the suspected poisoning of Vladimir Kara-Murza, one of the country’s most prominent pro-democracy activists, was authorised by senior members of the Putin regime.
Russian opposition MP Ilya Ponomarev, who lives in exile in Ukraine and is an ally of Mr Kara-Murza, told the ABC’s PM program he believes his friend has been punished for his role in promoting the Magnitsky Act.
“For me, there is no doubt that authorization for such a thing and for the [attempted] assassination of such a public figure like Vladimir could have only come from higher circles of the current authorities,” Mr Ponomarev told PM.
Kara-Murza’s determination in the face of great odds and courage to push for democratic values and principles deserves whole-hearted support, according to a group of prominent officials, experts and activists, including Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy.
Western policymakers should send a strong message to Putin that the West stands together in support of those principles and the people who espouse them, they said in a statement published by The Hill. RTWT
