In September 2016, Leonidas Donskis, a Lithuanian MEP, philosopher, essayist and academic teacher died prematurely. The article, devoted to him by Portal 15min, includes the reminiscences of him by President of the Open Dialog Foundation Lyudmyla Kozlovska.
On 10-14 October 2016, during the 4th plenary session of the PACE, a world-wide #StopPutinsWarInUkraine action will take place and photos of political prisoners and histories of their persecution will be published on social media within the #LetMyPeopleGo campaign.
On 28 June, 2016, the court in Vilnius handed down the ruling denying the requests of Kazakhstan and Ukraine regarding the extradition of Syrym Shalabayev who is a relative of the Kazakh opposition politician and political refugee, Mukhtar Ablyazov.
At the end of the Free Russia Forum the participating representatives of the Russian opposition and civil society adopted a resolution supporting the call for the introduction of personal sanctions against individuals responsible for the persecution of the Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko.
On 14 January, 2016, MP Yegor Sobolev urged the General Prosecutor’s Office to carefully examine publicised incidents of abuse by Ukrainian investigators in the cases against Kazakh opposition politician Mukhtar Ablyazov and his relative Syrym Shalabayev.
Human rights defenders appeal to the office of the Prosecutor General, Ministry of Justice and President of Lithuania requesting recognition of political motivations behind persecution of a relative of the Kazakh dissident and urging not to allow S. Shalabayev’s extradition to Kazakhstan or Ukraine.
We wish to draw your attention to the alarming fact of the prosecution of the relative of a Kazakh oppositionist in a case which is overtly characterised by political context.
Syrym Shalabayev, a relative of the Kazakh opposition politician Mukhtar Ablyazov, requests that Lithuania grants him political asylum and protection against extradition.
