Audio: Lev Ponomarev Interview

WBEZ in Chicago is running their interview with Lev Ponomarev. Listen here.

Lev Ponomarev is with the All-Russian Movement for Human Rights and works with the “The Other Russia” coalition. Lev is a harsh critic of the Putin regime’s repression of democracy and the abysmal conditions in Russian prisons. Last week, the Russian government charged Ponomarev with slandering General Yuri Kalinin, head of the Federal Penitentiary Service. The charges come from accusations made by Ponomarev that Kalinin is responsible for atrocities in the Russian prison system, especially towards political dissidents. Ponomarev is banned from leaving the country. Jerome spoke to Lev recently while he was in Chicago to speak about human rights and democracy in Russia. And Lev told me what he thought of the elections process in Russia…