A fundamental aspect is being ignored in talks about peace in Ukraine, warns a Nobel laureate who insists on working in Russia. “How many faces do I have to show you?”

As a United States emissary heads to Moscow to negotiate a complex peace plan in Ukraine, Russian Nobel Peace Prize laureate journalist Dmitri Muratov says a vital element is missing from the talks' agenda.

Borders, security safeguards, the fate of frozen Russian assets and the prospect of joint US-Russia investment projects are expected to be discussed on Tuesday when President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff meets with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.

But Muratov is worried about the fate of people – especially the hundreds of people jailed in Russia under censorship laws passed after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which criminalized “discrediting” the Russian military or spreading “deliberately false information”.

On Monday, he and 15 other former winners of the Nobel Peace, Literature and Science Prizes sent an open letter to Putin, Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the European Union, calling for the release or exchange of political prisoners as part of the proposed deal.

“Look, they talk about money, agreements, rare metals, borders, but have you ever heard anyone talk about people?” said Muratov, editor-in-chief and co-founder of Russia's leading independent newspaper, Novaya Gazeta. Muratov continues to live and work in Russia despite being labeled a “foreign agent” by the authorities.

“Honestly, I don't know what's going on in Putin's mind, forgive me… I just know that people are dying in prisons and they need to be saved,” the journalist said in a video interview with Reuters.

Photos of prisoners

During the interview, he showed photos — taken before and after their incarceration — showing how several prominent Russian dissidents, including activist Alexei Gorinov, theater director Zhenya Berkovich and saxophonist Andrei Shabanov, had visibly aged in prison and suffered trauma that affected their health.

“I will show you what (these) people look like now. So that no one has any doubt that many simply will not survive. They will die if the international community – Zelensky, Putin, Trump and the European Union – do not decide the fate of these people now,” Muratov said.

“How many faces do I have to show you for the politicians involved in the negotiations to say “yes, let's also talk about human rights to life, dignity and freedom”?”, added the Russian journalist.

The Russian presidency does not comment on individual cases. The Kremlin says Russia must comply with its laws to deal with people involved in what it considers to be subversive activities against the state and that they are treated appropriately in the prison system.

Trump has so far not publicly called for the release of political prisoners in Russia. This contrasts with the US leader's stance on Belarus, where Trump urged President Aleksandr Lukashenko, a close Putin ally, to release more than 1,000 people the Republican described as hostages (prisoners).

However, Trump has expressed his commitment to repatriate US citizens imprisoned in Russia, some of whom were released during his second term as president.

In a major East-West prisoner swap that took place last year during the administration of Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, 16 people – including US citizens Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsou Kurmasheva, as well as several prominent Russian dissidents – were released from Russian and Belarusian prisons, while Moscow recovered eight people who were incarcerated in the West.

“Until we put people at the center of politics, wars will continue”

In their appeal, the 16 Nobel laureates expressed hope that the current negotiations could end Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II.

“We are confident that if Messrs. Putin and Zelenskiy will show goodwill and pardon each other at least a few dozen prisoners who are imprisoned only for expressing their personal opinions and who have not committed violent crimes, this will speed up the establishment of a lasting and just peace,” said the signatories of the appeal.

The letter refers to more than 1,000 people held in Russian prisons for political offences. The document does not specify the number of people imprisoned in Ukraine, including people convicted of treason or collaboration with Moscow.

Among the signatories are Nobel Peace Prize laureates Jose Ramos-Horta, Jody Williams, Maria Ressa and Yan Rachinsky, as well as Nobel Prize laureate for Literature Svetlana Alexievich.

“Until we put people at the center of politics, wars will continue,” Muratov said.

He stated that he hopes that the first lady of the United States, Melania Trump, who intervened with Putin to request the repatriation of Ukrainian children – whom Kiev says the Russians kidnapped -, will support the initiative to release political prisoners, which, according to Muratov, is part of the tradition of Russian-American relations dating back decades.

The Russian journalist also told Reuters that he was confident that the negotiators would heed the call.

“I am confident that they will listen to this letter, and then we will see how they will act. We will monitor their actions,” added Muratov.