Boris Kagarlitsky, one of the most prominent left-wing sociologists in Russia, was arrested on 25 July, and taken to Syktyvkar (Komi Republic, Russia) on 26 July. The same day, the local court placed him in custody for two months on “justification of terrorism” charges. If the court finds him guilty, Kagarlitsky could spend up to 7 years in prison.

The prominent Russian left-wing intellectual and academic Boris Kagarlitsky was detained by the Russian security services FSB on July 25, on the basis of a criminal investigation against him for “justifying terrorism”. He was transferred to Syktyvkar, the capital of the Komi Republic, where a tribunal decreed his preventative arrest. He can be held until September 24.

The Venezuelan Communist Party is facing a campaign of attacks, slanders, and a coup to usurp its legal and electoral registration from its democratically elected leadership, carried out by the PSUV and the government. The following statement of solidarity was approved unanimously by the leadership of the International Marxist Tendency at a meeting of its International Executive Committee this week. The sections and groups represented (from 30 countries) are listed at the end.

For almost half a year, the chairman of the Kurier trade union (representing food delivery couriers), Kirill Ukraintsev, has been in custody. He is charged with repeated violations of the law for holding public events. But in fact, he is being persecuted for legitimate trade union activities, and for defending the rights of one of the most disadvantaged and disenfranchised groups of the working class.

On Wednesday 9 February, climate activists Orla Murphy and Zac Lumley, will appear at the District Court in Dublin to face serious criminal damage charges, for which they could face up to a year in prison. The ‘crime’ they are accused of committing? Peacefully protesting against the inaction of the Irish government in the face of climate change by painting the words “No More Empty Promises” on the front of a government building. In the case of Zac Lumley, a supporter of the Irish Marxists (IMT Ireland), he is accused of merely live-streaming the protest.

We are pleased to announce that the appeal to support the work of the Trotsky House Museum has raised just over US$3500! The Leon Trotsky House Museum in Coyoacan, Mexico City, is a unique institution dedicated to preserving the legacy of the great Russian revolutionary. This is the house where Trotsky lived and worked in the last years of his life, with his wife Natalia and his grandson Esteban, until his assassination in 1940.

Please donate generously to support the Trotsky House Museum! Help preserve this invaluable piece of revolutionary history for future generations. 

The political, economic and social crisis triggered by the pandemic has affected all countries across the globe. It is yet another nail in the coffin of the old order, which is being questioned by the masses everywhere. In this context, we are calling on our comrades and supporters to donate generously and help us build the forces of Marxism! Join us in the fight!

We were delighted to report on Monday that our comrade in Pakistan, Amar Fayaz, was returned safely after spending almost two months in captivity following his forced disappearance by the state. In this report, we initially neglected to include the efforts of our comrades in Argentina and Chile, who gathered a huge amount of support from leading members of the labour movement in those countries. We have now updated the article to reflect this: click here to skip to the new section.

Amar Fayaz, the Pakistani comrade of the IMT who was recently returned by the state authorities following his abduction on 8 November 2020, has recorded this message of thanks for the solidarity he received from comrades and supporters all over the world, which was instrumental in ensuring his release.

Comrade Amar Fayaz was abducted on 8 November 2020 by state authorities in Jamshoro, Pakistan, a month ago, and his whereabouts are still unknown. Comrades all around the world are showing solidarity and putting pressure on the Pakistani state, demanding Amar’s release. An online petition has gathered more than 6,000 signatures from comrades and supporters globally.

Thousands tuned in for an online rally on 25 November to launch a Brazilian campaign in support of the Leon Trotsky House Museum in Mexico. The meeting was hosted and introduced by Roberto Robaina a PSOL (Party of Socialism and Freedom) councillor in Porto Alegre and leader of the MES tendency within the party, Serge Goulart (from the Esquerda Marxista, Brazilian section of the IMT) and Israel Dutra, the PSOL International Relations Officer. Speaking at the meeting were Esteban Volkov, Trotsky’s grandson, Gabriela Noriega, the Museum’s Director, Leonardo Padura, the renowned Cuban writer who wrote “The Man Who

Comrade Amar Fayaz was abducted on 8 November by state authorities of Pakistan from Jamshoro and his whereabouts are still unknown. This has become a common practice in Pakistan in which political workers, journalists and other citizens who raise their voices against the government or its policies are abducted with the help of police and security services, and are kept in inhuman conditions and severely tortured.

On 8 November at around 1:30 a.m., men in two jeeps of the kind typically used by security agencies for abductions, along with three police cars, abducted comrade Amar Fayaz in Jamshoro, Sindh. He was sitting near the gate of Liaqat Medical University in Jamshoro when this incident happened. No one knows his whereabouts since then. We appeal to all our comrades and supporters to struggle for his release!

We ask worker and student activists and organisations around the world to show their solidarity with the struggle in Haiti by sharing this statement, taking pictures and making statements of their own on social media using the hashtags #SolidaritéAvecLaLutteEnHaïti and #ABasLeRégimeMoïse. To add the name of your organisation to the statement please contact webmaster@marxist.com.