This statement by Charter 77, issued on July 22, 1978, serves as a formal protest against the sentencing of East German philosopher and Marxist economist Rudolf Bahro to eight years of imprisonment. The spokespersons for Charter 77—Ladislav Hejdánek, Marta Kubišová, and Jaroslav Šabata—express their profound indignation, interpreting the court's decision as a direct attack on civil liberties and critical intellectual inquiry within the Soviet bloc. Bahro was targeted for his seminal work, The Alternative, which provided a rigorous critique of the bureaucratic social systems in the GDR and other Eastern European nations. The document underscores the trans-border solidarity of the democratic opposition, noting that Bahro’s disillusionment with the East German regime was primarily triggered by the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia. This declaration reflects Charter 77’s commitment to defending human rights beyond its national borders and highlights the interconnectedness of European dissident movements. The abstract also contextualizes the case within the broader international outcry, which eventually secured Bahro’s release and deportation to West Germany in 1979 following a wave of global support.