The IMU Executive Committee did not respond to our message of August 23, 2021 regarding the case of our colleague Azat Miftakhov. We sent them the following new message on September 6, 2021.
Dear members of the International Mathematical Union (IMU) Executive Committee,
We sent you a letter regarding the case of our colleague Azat Miftakhov on August 23. We would like to inform you that since then, the letter has been signed by more than 300 mathematicians and 3 learned mathematical societies. The full signatories list is available at this address
We take this message to inform you that Azat has started serving the rest of his sentence in the Omutninsk penal colony number 17 after a period of quarantine. He was first assigned to hard physical labor in a woodworking shop, consisting in cleaning sawdust from under the sawmill. Later, he informed his wife that his working conditions have improved somewhat and he now “carries boards instead of sawdust,” which, according to him, is much easier. He described his life in the penal colony in detail in a personal letter to his wife. “At the entrance to the camp, almost all of my clothes were not allowed through. They left me only socks, panties, gloves and thermal underwear … the same with books: all my books were taken, supposedly for a check” he wrote.
We renew our urgent request to the IMU to follow the position adopted by the international mathematical community it represents and to call for the immediate and unconditional release of Azat Miftakhov. The physical and moral integrity of our young colleague are at stake.
The case of Azat Miftakhov 