After her husband, Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, died in prison, Yulia Navalnaya said that she was now half-dead. Yet she pledged this week to continue his brave work.
But she needs all of us around the world to help her. That is the only way that Navalnaya can accomplish what her husband did not finish during his lifetime. His death in prison, ultimately at the hands of Putin, must be a wake-up call for the rest of the world.
I never had the chance to meet Navalny, but hearing of his death reminded me of when I, as a teenager, met another dissident, Harry Wu. While there have been questions about Wu’s legacy, which must be addressed, the encounter I had at the age of 15 at a local classroom lecture in my hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, changed the course of my life.
After criticizing the Chinese totalitarian government, Wu was imprisoned in a Chinese labor camp for 19 years. He was nearly starved to death and experienced frequent beatings. After describing to the audience his time in solitary confinement, he pointed to a world map. He was soft-spoken but unwavering in his message: Our lives are deeply affected by the circumstances of our birth. A child born in the US would enjoy democracy and freedom. A child born in China was destined for limitation and oppression.
At that moment, astounded by such stories of bravery and struck by how ordinary individuals can take bold and extraordinary action, I committed myself to a career in human rights and advocacy. I understood that being born in the US gave me unlimited freedom and the opportunity to help others who were destined to suffer or be silenced.
In today’s world, Navalny was one of a network of human rights advocates and dissidents who called out tyranny and oppression. They are heroes among us, everyday individuals whose decisions to stand up against totalitarianism changed their lives and the lives of their communities. We can hope that they will change the world order as well, but they are relying on the rest of us to help achieve their mission, to support them, to get their messages out, and to take any action we can to reflect their values and mission.
Many of these global heroes live in countries allied with Russia, which employ the same totalitarian tactics. There is a spiderweb of human rights activists living and dying in countries whose despotism threatens global stability. These nations despise individual freedoms and are desperate to retain – and expand – their influence.
Russia’s strongest allies – Iran (and its proxies, including Hamas and Hezbollah), North Korea, Belarus, and China – also among the countries with the worst human rights records. We must not forget that in each of these countries, there is a Navalny who is demanding our consciousness and support, risking their lives.
In Iran, Nobel Prize winner Narges Mohammadi is just one of hundreds of human rights defenders languishing in prison. Still, she manages to smuggle her writings and messages beyond the walls of Evin Prison, demanding “democracy, freedom, and equality” and an end to gender apartheid.
Timothy Cho, a North Korean defector and human rights activist, was imprisoned and beaten by the North Korean regime. He miraculously escaped and advocates for democracy, freedom of expression, and justice in North Korea.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is a Belarussian opposition leader and human rights activist. By many accounts, she won the 2020 presidential election against authoritarian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, who remains in office. She has warned, “Dictatorship is a cancer; it will spread.”
In May 2023, Chinese activist Yang Maodong was sentenced to eight years in prison for criticizing the Communist Party. Maodong said that all his activities aim for “China to fully realize authentic freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.” Following a hunger strike in prison, colleagues are deeply concerned about his health.
Dictators in Iran, North Korea, Belarus, and China systematically arrest and murder detractors as a way to maintain their tyrannical hold. Perhaps they don’t realize that their oppression only fuels dissent. And this is where the rest of the world can play a role. Strangling human rights doesn’t stamp out freedom but, rather, can give it oxygen as long as there are other brave individuals willing to support these activists.
They cannot do it alone. But in 2024, can they count on global support?
Western appeasement breeds tyranny and terror
WE ARE BECOMING too comfortable with tyranny and dictatorships. Western appeasement resulted in the deaths of over 600,000 Syrians at the hands of President Assad. The Houthis’ insurgency in Yemen created a humanitarian crisis for over 20 million people, and now the terrorist group is blocking global trade routes. China enjoys warm or cool relationships with most of the West while it systematically persecutes its Muslim Uyghur population.
Chinese authorities have implemented forced labor, surveillance, and a program of unwanted sterilization, and they have unlawfully detained an estimated one million Uyghurs. Iran enjoys friendly relationships with many countries in Europe while it directs and finances the world’s worst terror organizations, including Hamas and Hezbollah.
Navalny’s death and his wife’s commitment to carry on his work at great risk to her life must be a clarion call to galvanize human rights defenders and their supporters. There are actions that both ordinary citizens and leaders of large advocacy organizations living in democracies can take: Amplify the voices of true human rights heroes, such as those named here. Many of them have organizations and individuals who support them abroad, and this support is critical.
Be very careful not to proliferate the messages of organizations that support or apologize for totalitarian regimes in power. As former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi recently asserted, protesters in the United States expressing solidarity with Hamas and calling for a ceasefire may be linked to Putin.
Support organizations that are looking to promote democratic values; do not be ashamed of promoting democracy and being proud of democracy. All human rights defenders living under totalitarian regimes are risking their lives to bring rule of law, democracy, and freedom of expression to their nations. We must value and safeguard these cornerstones.
We must no longer tolerate the brutality of dictators. We must not be apologetic in our mission to strengthen democracy and demand freedoms for everyone. Democracy is not a dirty word; it is the word whispered on the breath of every human rights activist from Tehran to Pyongyang, in Shanghai and Minsk. It is the value we must uphold and celebrate – for their sakes and for ours.
The writer is a human rights lawyer and filmmaker. She is the founder and director of The 49%, a nonprofit women’s rights organization.