‘Human rights defender, artist, political prisoner’: Exhibition honors imprisoned Russian activist Orlov

PARIS — An exhibition dedicated to veteran Russian human rights activist Oleg Orlov opened in the French capital this June.

Orlov, 71, was convicted this year of discrediting the Russian military and is serving a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for criticizing a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The exhibition “Oleg Orlov: Human Rights Defender, Artist, Political Prisoner,” organized by Memorial, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights organization co-founded by Orlov, will feature Orlov’s graphic works. From the days of amateur artists There will also be illustrations by contemporary artists depicting scenes from his trial.

Orlov is one of the few prominent anti-war activists who has remained in Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine led to a thorough crackdown on dissent, forcing many other critics to flee the country.

One of the works on display depicts Orlov’s court hearing, where he was charged with “discrediting” the army.

The accusations stem from an article Orlov wrote in November 2022 titled “They Wanted Fascism, And They Got It,” in which he called the war against Kiev “a serious blow to the future of Russia.”

in interview Ahead of his sentencing in February, Orlov told The Moscow Times that he “understood the threats he had received” for opposing the invasion but “believed in a better future for Russia.”

The exhibition includes the works of Oleg Orlov Budyonnovsk “Diary” is a comic book that describes Orlov’s experience as part of a group of human rights activists who were exchanged for one of 1,500 hostages. photograph He was killed by Chechen fighters during a terrorist attack in southern Russia in 1995.

Orlov Retained The diary details a four-day trip to Budyonnovsk in the Stavropol Territory and negotiations with terrorists. Artist Lyuba Yaseneva based it on a cartoon that is featured in the exhibition.

Orlov, who has been designated a “foreign agent” by Russia, has been an outspoken critic of the war since it began.

He was detained twice in 2022 for protesting the invasion, including at a picket in Red Square where he held up a sign that read: “Our refusal to know the truth and our silence make us accomplices to this crime.”

The United Nations and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have repeatedly It is called He went to Moscow to free Orlov.

International human rights groups have expressed concern about his deteriorating health in prison.

“Oleg Orlov’s health has deteriorated since his imprisonment and the Russian authorities must ensure that he has access to adequate medical care,” Mariana Katsarova, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Russia, said in April.

“By imprisoning Oleg Orlov on charges that have no basis in international law, the Russian authorities are showing all Russians the means they are willing to use to silence peaceful opposition and independent voices, and demonstrating how ruthless state authorities are capable of retaliating,” Katsarova said.