Gunārs Astra
Gunārs Astra | |
---|---|
Born | 22 October 1931 Latvian |
Known for | human rights activism |
Gunārs Astra (22 October 1931 – 6 April 1988) was a Latvian
Biography
Gunārs Astra was born in
In 1958, Gunārs Astra had the chance to meet
Astra was released in 1976 and returned to Latvia. He had not changed his political views and continued to oppose the Soviet regime. In 1983, he was arrested for the second time and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment. This time he was accused of possessing and distributing anti-Soviet literature, one of them being
He was released from prison in February 1988, but died in a hospital in
There is a commemorative plaque on the District Court building in Riga where Astra was sentenced, and a street in the capital bears his name.
Gunārs Astra lies in the Forest Cemetery in Riga.
On 3 May 2019, he was posthumously awarded with the Order of Viesturs.
On 20 January 2022, a monument to him was unveiled in front of the Latvian Supreme Court building.
Bibliography
1998. Novel Gunars Astra written by Māris Ruks (awarded the General Goppers Prize (USA) – a historical documentary of the most renowned defenders of human rights, renewal of independence in the Baltic States and dissident Gunārs Astra).