Russian Intellectuals Express Support For Political Prisoners In Letter

More than 100 Russian writers, poets, journalists, interpreters, literature experts, publishers, and other cultural figures have issued a letter expressing solidarity with political prisoners.

"Every Friday, hundreds of demonstrators in Moscow and St. Petersburg gather at metro stations, demanding justice and freedom for you. The weekly pickets are turning into a tradition in other cities of Russia," says the letter, which was published on February 11 by the website Colta.ru, says.

"Every day we spread the truth about you, about charges you faced, and about your sentences' being wrong. Every day we find ways to help your families and friends. We hope that our statement today will reach you in some way in your prison cell or camp barrack and you will see once again that dozens and hundreds of people outside constantly think about your fates, your future and will do everything they can for your freedom and ours," the letter says.

According to the Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center, there are 64 individuals in Russia currently jailed on politically motivated charges.