When the Kremlin invaded Ukraine, French union activist Marie-Laetitia Garric found herself drawn to Russian anti-war activism as the country where she had spent time two decades ago triggered a full-scale war in Europe and plunged into deeper authoritarianism.
But it was the story of jailed Russian-Tatar mathematician Azat Miftakhov that turned her new interest into a political cause. Garric now leads Solidarité FreeAzat, a French organization campaigning for Miftakhov’s release globally.
“For my comrades and I, Azat is a clear example of a political prisoner, an innocent person arrested simply for disagreeing with the regime,” said Garric. “We took him as a symbol of our struggle for the liberation of all those imprisoned for their ideas.”
Garric is one of dozens of activists, fellow mathematicians and ordinary people around the world pushing for the release of Miftakhov, who is serving a prison sentence seen as a retaliation for his activism and outspokenness about the brutal treatment he has experienced behind bars.
Miftakhov’s recent transfer to a notorious Arctic prison — and his allegations that he was tortured there — have now left these supporters fearing for his life.
