During a discussion held in the European Parliament, participants highlighted the alarming rise of political prisoners in Russia, surpassing even the numbers seen during the Soviet era. Bill Browder, leader of the "Magnitsky" act campaign, attributed the assassination of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov to his involvement in the campaign.

Organizer of the event, MEP Petras Austrevicius, described the creation of a new gulag system in Russia marked by humiliation, inhumane treatment, and torture. The wife of incarcerated opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza revealed that at least 50 people died under suspicious circumstances in custody last year alone.

According to recent media reports, over 160,000 Russians have faced criminal or administrative charges since 2018 for exercising their freedom of speech. This staggering figure underscores the intensification of political repression under Vladimir Putin's fourth presidential term, surpassing the combined number of political processes during the Brezhnev and Khrushchev eras.

Bill Browder, former head of the Hermitage Capital investment fund, recounted the events leading to the passing of the Magnitsky Act in the United States. Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer defending Browder's interests, uncovered a 0 million tax fraud implicating senior Russian officials. However, Magnitsky was arrested and died in prison in 2009 under suspicious circumstances, sparking international outcry.

Browder emphasized that Nemtsov and Kara-Murza were instrumental in advocating for the Magnitsky Act, infuriating Vladimir Putin. He believes Nemtsov's assassination was a direct consequence of his involvement in the passage of the act.

Nadezhda Skochilenko, mother of Aleksandra Skochilenko, shared her daughter's plight. Alexandra was sentenced to seven years for distributing anti-war leaflets. Skochilenko suffers from a heart defect exacerbated by prison conditions, posing a serious threat to her life. However, emergency medical assistance is scarce in Russian prisons.

Human rights activist Denis Shedov painted a bleak picture of the health prospects of political prisoners, describing them as hostages at the mercy of the Kremlin regime. Shedov lamented that not all political prisoners would survive their sentences under such harsh conditions.

In light of these developments, calls for international attention and action to protect the rights and lives of political prisoners in Russia are growing louder within the European Parliament.