A few months ago, I received a message from a random social media account in Russia, which asked me to sign an open letter in support of Russian political prisoner Azat Miftakhov.
I knew the man behind the account, which has since been deleted; these days, he is ‘deep underground’, trying to stay completely off the grid. I questioned what help a letter could be but signed anyway. A person who is safe has no right to refuse those who are in danger.
When I saw the letter published in French media outlet Mediapart days later, I learned that hundreds of others had also demanded freedom for Miftakhov: mathematicians, scientists, journalists, trade unionists, from countries including France, the US and Russia.
