In these circumstances, we condemn the position of the Western leaders who are attending the World Cup in Russia. They are consciously or unconsciously, supporting the dictatorial regime in Russia.
June 14 is the opening day of the FIFA World Cup, hosted this year by Russia. The event will take place in the context of Russia’s continued aggression in Ukraine and Syria, its tightening of repressive policy inside the country, and a steady increase in the number of political prisoners. Putin’s regime continues to trample the human rights of its people and to pursue a hostile policy abroad. Its acts have now crossed the line into open terror directed against opponents of the regime.
The fact that the World Cup will take place as Oleg Sentsov and a number of other Ukrainian political
prisoners engage in a hunger strike, lends a particularly gloomy tone to the event. These brave activists put forth a principled demand for the release of all Ukrainian political prisoners. They were arrested by the Russian authorities in their own country, for actions aimed at protecting the territorial integrity of their homeland.
In these circumstances, we condemn the position of the Western leaders who are attending the World Cup in Russia. They are consciously or unconsciously, supporting the dictatorial regime in Russia. We call on the leaders of all democratic states to withhold any support for this event.
