Alexander Podrabinek is a Russian freelance journalist and former Soviet political prisoner. Involved in the democratic movement in the USSR since the early 1970s, he has investigated in particular the use of psychiatry for political purposes. Twice tried for “defamation” for his books and articles published in the West or circulating in samizdat, he spent five and a half years in prison, in camps and in relegation. His best-known book is Punitive Medicine, in Russian and English. He is a columnist and journalist for several media including Novaya Gazeta, RFI, Radio Liberty, etc.