In an interview in New York, a transcript of which was published by Ekho, Muratov told anchor Erin Burnett that he had spoken with presidents, diplomats and ambassadors, but that the subject of political prisoners in Russia is almost never discussed. He asked for help in correcting that, noting he had not seen a single CNN segment on Russian political prisoners in a year.
On air he showed photographs of theater director Zhenya Berkovich taken shortly after her arrest and in the penal colony. According to Muratov, Berkovich now weighs about 40 kilograms, and her lawyers have said she was sent to a punishment cell for the second time recently. Among the stated reasons were that she did not put her hands behind her back quickly enough, wore her headscarf incorrectly and did not make her bed.
Muratov recalled that Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk each received seven-year prison sentences. Berkovich has two adopted daughters, an elderly mother and a 95-year-old grandmother who is ill with cancer.
He also showed photographs of former municipal deputy Alexei Gorinov before his imprisonment and years after the prosecution against him began. According to Muratov, Gorinov became the first person in Russia to be convicted for refusing to support the war.
Of pianist Pavel Kushnir, who died in a pretrial detention center, Muratov said he spoke out against the invasion of Ukraine on a blog with 10 to 15 subscribers. He showed a photograph of Kushnir in his coffin and addressed the anchor: when she goes to Carnegie Hall to hear Schubert or Rachmaninoff, let her remember that this man was buried with blood on his lips - that is how political prisoners live and die in Russia.
The broadcast showed photographs of pediatrician Nadezhda Buyanova, convicted in a case over military "fakes," and Samara saxophonist Andrei Shabanov, who suffers from psoriasis.
Separately, Muratov spoke about Alexandra Strelets, who received 12 years in a penal colony on charges of supporting Ukraine. Her seriously ill daughter, Lera, was born weighing 530 grams and had been on a ventilator from birth. The prisoner was not allowed to see her daughter as she was dying in hospital. The girl died three days before the interview. According to Muratov, Strelets most regretted never having heard her child's voice.
Muratov supported US talks with Moscow, since the parties must talk in order to end the war. At the same time, he asked why the plane of special envoy Steve Witkoff returns empty after trips to Russia and why he does not ask Vladimir Putin to release political prisoners. He cited US special envoy John Cole, who took part in the release of several hundred prisoners in Belarus, and suggested that Witkoff and Jared Kushner follow his example.