[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”89311″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]

Ildar Dadin is a Russian human rights activist who was the first, and remains the only, person to be convicted under a notorious 2014 public assembly law aimed at quashing protest. For his one-man demonstrations, Dadin – a nominee for this year’s Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards – was sentenced, in 2015, to three years in prison, where he was tortured. Despite the sudden and unexpected quashing of his conviction in February of this year, Dadin remains subject to a travel ban which prevents him from leaving Russia. As a result, he is unable to join us in person.

The Henry Jackson Society, in association with Index on Censorship, is pleased to invite you to an event with Anastasia Zotova, Human rights activist and wife of Ildar Dadin. She has worked closely with him throughout his incarceration, fought for his release and has since campaigned alongside him. She will join us to shed a timely light on the increasingly dangerous environment for dissenters in Russia, the appalling conditions faced by Russia’s prisoners, and the future for political opposition in the country.

Anastasia Zotova is a journalist, human rights campaigner and wife of Russian political activist Ildar Dadin. Zotova, a daughter of two Putin supporters, first met Dadin whilst working as a journalist covering his protests. When he was imprisoned, she decided to marry Dadin, allowing the couple to maintain contact. Zotova subsequently worked to protect and defend her husband, using her position to fight for his release, speak out against the torture he and fellow inmates were facing and draw attention to wider Russian human rights abuses. With Dadin now facing a travel ban, she is an important international advocate.

Ildar Dadin is a Russian opposition activist. He was the first, and remains the only, person to be convicted under a notorious 2014 public assembly law. Dadin was arrested and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in December 2015. In November 2016, website Meduza published a letter smuggled from Dadin to his wife, exposing torture he claimed he was suffering alongside fellow prisoners. The letter, a brave move for a serving prisoner, was widely reported. A government investigation was prompted, and Dadin was transferred – against his will – to a Siberian prison colony. In February 2017, Russia’s constitutional and Supreme Courts suddenly quashed Dadin’s conviction, ruling he should be released and afforded opportunity for rehabilitation.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Unfortunately this event has been cancelled. Please join us at Anastasia Zotova in conversation at Pushkin House

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1492680120979-1b987176-cd1f-0″ taxonomies=”8935″][/vc_column][/vc_row]