Petition in support of Boris Kagarlitsky

The following petition appeared on the website campaigning for the freedom of Boris Kagarlitsky. We are publishing it as it is along with the list of signatories.

We, the undersigned, were deeply shocked to learn that on February 13 the leading Russian socialist intellectual and anti-war activist Dr Boris Kagarlitsky (65) was sentenced to five years in prison.

Dr Kagarlitsky was arrested on the absurd charge of ‘justifying terrorism’ in July last year. After a global campaign reflecting his worldwide reputation as a writer and critic of capitalism and imperialism, his trial ended on December 12 with a guilty verdict and a fine of 609,000 roubles.

The prosecution then appealed against the fine as ‘unjust due to its excessive leniency’ and claimed falsely that Dr Kagarlitsky was unable to pay the fine and had failed to cooperate with the court. In fact, he had paid the fine in full and provided the court with everything it requested.

On February 13 a military court of appeal sent him to prison for five years and banned him from running a website for two years after his release.

The reversal of the original court decision is a deliberate insult to the many thousands of activists, academics, and artists around the world who respect Dr Kagarlitsky and took part in the global campaign for his release. The section of Russian law used against Dr Kagarlitsky effectively prohibits free expression. The decision to replace the fine with imprisonment was made under a completely trumped-up pretext. Undoubtedly, the court’s action represents an attempt to silence criticism in the Russian Federation of the government’s war in Ukraine, which is turning the country into a prison.

The sham trial of Dr Kagarlitsky is the latest in a wave of brutal repression against the left-wing movements in Russia. Organizations that have consistently criticized imperialism, Western and otherwise, are now under direct attack, many of them banned. Dozens of activists are already serving long terms simply because they disagree with the policies of the Russian government and have the courage to speak up. Many of them are tortured and subjected to life-threatening conditions in Russian penal colonies, deprived of basic medical care. Left-wing politicians are forced to flee Russia, facing criminal charges. International trade unions such as IndustriALL and the International Transport Federation are banned and any contact with them will result in long prison sentences.

There is a clear reason for this crackdown on the Russian left. The heavy toll of the war gives rise to growing discontent among the mass of working people. The poor pay for this massacre with their lives and wellbeing, and opposition to war is consistently highest among the poorest. The left has the message and resolve to expose the connection between imperialist war and human suffering.

Dr Kagarlitsky has responded to the court’s outrageous decision with calm and dignity: ‘We just need to live a little longer and survive this dark period for our country,’ he said. Russia is nearing a period of radical change and upheaval, and freedom for Dr Kagarlitsky and other activists is a condition for these changes to take a progressive course.

We demand that Boris Kagarlitsky and all other anti-war prisoners be released immediately and unconditionally.

We also call on the authorities of the Russian Federation to reverse their growing repression of dissent and respect their citizens’ freedom of speech and right to protest.

Signatories

Naomi Klein

Canadian author, social activist, and filmmaker known for her political analyses, support of ecofeminism, organized labour, leftism and criticism of corporate globalization, fascism, ecofascism and capitalism.
Jeremy Corbyn

British politician, Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020, member of Parliament
Jean-Luc Mélenchon

Co-director of La Boétie Institute, French Presidential candidate of The Popular Union in 2022
Slavoj Žižek

Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual
Tariq Ali

Pakistani-British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, and public intellectual
Yanis Varoufakis

Writer and political leader (Greece)
Judy Rebick

Feminist writer and activist (Canada)
Myriam Bregman

National Deputy (Argentina)
Nicolás del Caño

National Deputy (Argentina)
Christian Castillo

National Deputy (Argentina)
Fernanda Melchionna

Federal Deputy (Brazil)
Sâmia Bomfim

Federal Deputy (Brazil)
Walden Bello

Focus on the Global South (The Philippines)
Luciana Genro

State Deputy, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil)
Kavita Krishnan

Secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association
Richard Boyd-Barrett

TD (Ireland)
John McDonnell

MP (UK)
Fredric Jameson

Duke University (USA)
Étienne Balibar

French philosopher, professor of political philosophy at the University of Paris X-Nanterre (as well as the University of California at Irvine), teacher of French and English and contemporary literature.
Lin Chun

London School of Economics (UK/China)
Kohei Saito

University of Tokyo (Japan)
Claudio Katz

University of Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Luis Bonilla-Molina

Otras Voces en Educación (Venezuela)
Reinaldo Iturriza López

Sociologist (Venezuela)
Patrick Bond

University of Johannesburg
Lindsey German

Stop the War Coalition (UK)
Alex Callinicos

British political theorist and activist
Andrej Hunko

Member of the Budestag (Germany)
Jodi Dean

Hobart-William Smith (USA)
Kerstin Kaiser

Leiterin Büro der Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Moskau 2016-2022, Partei DIE LINKE
Dr. Gregor Gysi

Member of the Bundestag, the Left Party, Foreign Policy Spokesperson
Janine Wissler

Co-Chairwoman of the Left Party, Member of the Bundestag
Martin Schirdewan

Co-Chair of the Left Party, Member of the European Parliament, Co-Chairman of the parliamentary group The Left – GUE/NGL
Larissa Waters

Australian Greens Leader in the Senate (Australia)
Max Chandler-Mather

Australian Greens MP for Griffith
Rehad Desai

Zabalaza for Socialism, South Africa