Annual General Assembly of the STP

In the course of the Annual General Assembly of the STP (Saturday, October 26), Russian human rights activist Oleg Orlov signed the Golden Book of the city of Göttingen, and author Ronya Othmann was awarded an honorary membership of the STP in recognition of her longstanding commitment for the Yazidi people and other persecuted minorities.

“And now I am free, here in the wonderful city of Göttingen,” Orlov stated after signing the city’s Golden Book in the Startraum in Göttingen. In February 2024, a court in Moscow had sentenced the co-founder of the human rights organization Memorial – with which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 – to two and a half years in prison for his criticism of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. He was released in a prisoner exchange in August 2024 and has been living in exile in Germany since then.

“I cannot enjoy the freedom that has unexpectedly come to me without constantly remembering how many political prisoners are still locked up in Russian camps and jails,” Orlov said. In his speech, he also criticized Germany’s Russia policy in the 2000s and the hopes that economic interests would keep Russia from pursuing a more aggressive policy – and he also warned against a policy of appeasement in dealing with Russia.

“By asking him to sign the Golden Book, the city of Göttingen honored Orlov’s commitment for the victims of human rights violations, against war and persecution, and for democracy in Russia,” stated Sarah Reinke, head of human rights work at the STP. “You have been fighting for the protection of human rights, often under the most challenging conditions and at great personal risk, for more than 40 years. Your work reminds us of the fact that commitment for justice and individual rights knows no boundaries – neither geographical nor political,” Mayor Jutta Steinke praised the human rights activist in her speech.

Further, author Ronya Othmann was awarded an honorary membership of the STP in the course of the Annual General Assembly. “Through her literary work, Othman gives a voice to those who are persecuted and oppressed. She expresses their suffering, helping to draw attention to them in public discourse – especially the Yazidi community,” stated Burkhard Gauly, Chairman of the board.

In her novel “Vierundsiebzig”, from which she read that evening, Othmann addresses the genocide crimes the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) committed against the Yazidi people in the region of Sinjar in northern Iraq in 2014. “We are proud that Ronya Othmann is becoming our honorary member. Together, we will be able to draw global attention to the Yazidi people, a minority group that lives scattered all over the world: sorely needed attention, as approximately 2,700 women are still being held as hostages or have disappeared,” Gauly stated during the honorary membership award ceremony.