The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the increasing repression in Russia, including the case of Alexei Navalny.
The text adopted in plenary was tabled by the EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA, ECR the Left groups and Members.
The Russian regime has intensified, in an unprecedented manner, its crackdown on peaceful protesters, independent journalists and bloggers, human rights defenders and civil society activists in an effort to silence any criticism of and opposition to its illegal, unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine.
Since 24 February 2022, Russian authorities have arbitrarily detained more than 15 400 peaceful anti-war protesters across the country, subjecting some to severe ill‑treatment and other human rights violations.
As regards Alexei Navalny, the Russian lawyer, opposition politician and anti-corruption activist, who has been serving an arbitrary, politically motivated sentence since 2021, the EU has condemned his poisoning and politically motivated imprisonment in the strongest possible terms.
Parliament called for Alexei Navalny’s immediate and unconditional release, as well as of the hundreds of other Russian citizens baselessly detained merely for having the courage to demonstrate in favour of democracy and peace or to improve their rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
The resolution urged the VP/HR and the Council to make effective use of the EU’s global human rights sanctions mechanism and impose restrictive measures on all Russian officials involved in the crackdown against independent civil society and media and peaceful protesters, as well as in this latest case against Alexei Navalny.
Parliament condemned the Russian regime’s domestic repression, which has worsened in the wake of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and called on it to establish a clear legal framework as well as a safe environment for civil society organisations, protesters, media and political actors enabling them to carry out their legitimate and useful work without interference.
It also condemned the neo-totalitarian, imperialist ideological stance cultivated by the Russian Government and its propagandists and stressed that the assault against democracy and disregard for the rights of other nations has paved Russia’s path towards despotism, international aggression and war crimes. The resolution underscored that an undemocratic Russia is a constant threat to Europe’s security and stability.
The Commission and the Member States are called on to:
- strengthen protection for the rights and physical integrity of activists, independent journalists and human rights defenders targeted by the Russian authorities’ repression, and to provide them with emergency visas to enable them to leave the country and find temporary shelter in the EU, as well as to allow threatened or banned Russian NGOs and media to immediately continue their work from EU territory if needed;
- prevent and counter the spread of disinformation, including propaganda, and strengthen independent media;
- host banned media teams in the EU and to develop a joint platform for media in exile, as well as to support technologies that enable people to use the internet to exercise their fundamental rights, in particular the freedom of information and expression, and to support the pursuit of democracy and the rule of law, by establishing technological means to circumvent communication surveillance and the blocking of websites and applications in Russia.
Lastly, the Commission is called on to help establish and support a Democratic Russia Hub for continuous dialogue with the democratic Russian community, in particular the anti-war committee established by Russian democratic opposition activists, in order to provide direct communication with the Russian people and to develop together with civil society an EU strategy for a future democratic Russia.