Ayrat Dilmukhametov
Candidate for President of the Republic of Bashkortostan
Story
An opposition politician, political commentator, and journalist. He is one of the leaders of the Bashkir national movement. He has been sentenced to 9 years in a strict regime colony for his public speeches on the internet criticizing the authorities and advocating for the rights of the Bashkir people. Previously, Dilmukhametov was sentenced to 3 years in a strict regime colony with a ban on engaging in journalistic activities for 2 years due to a journalistic article that spoke unfavorably about the political regime in Russia and the colonial situation in his native republic.
Friends and relatives of the political prisoner report that since his arrival at the colony, he has been almost constantly kept in a punishment cell or solitary confinement. According to his lawyers’ calculations, the Bashkir politician has spent about 10 years of his life behind bars on political charges.
Write a letter
A letter is the simplest way to support a person in prison. It is read not only by the addressee: the administration sees that the person is remembered, and that protects.
- How to send By ordinary mail to the colony’s address or through the “FSIN-pismo” service (fsin-pismo.ru): it is paid but faster, and a reply can be prepaid. From abroad the easiest way is through projects supporting political prisoners, such as OVD-Info: they will tell you how to forward a letter.
- What to write about About yourself and what is happening around you: books, films, nature, life in your city. You can enclose a postcard or a photo. Write in Russian — letters in other languages are delayed or not delivered.
- What not to write about The case, the court and the investigation, politics and the war, other detainees. Letters are censored: such letters are simply not delivered and may do harm. Do not promise what you cannot deliver.
- How long to wait A letter takes from two weeks to two months. A reply does not always come — that does not mean the letter was not delivered.
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