Putin calls for minute of silence for human rights activist

President Vladimir Putin called for a minute\'s silence in memory of human rights activist Valery Abramkin at a meeting of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights on Wednesday. Putin recalled his own last attendance at the council at the end of 2012 and that \"in January 2013, Valery Fyodorvich Abramkin passed away. This is a big loss for all of us, for the whole of the human rights movement.\" Valery Abramkin had been a member of the presidential council since 2004. He was the author of many publications, books and TV programs about prison conditions and the consequences of criminal punishment administered to those convicted. Abramkin wrote several dozen reports for international conferences and Russian and international non-governmental organizations on jail conditions and violation of human rights.