On the murder of Alexei Navalny and the need for EU action in support of political prisoners and oppressed civil society in Russia

B90146/2024

European Parliament resolution on the murder of Alexei Navalny and the need for EU action in support of political prisoners and oppressed civil society in Russia

(2024/2579(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Charter of the United Nations,

– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966,

– having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950,

– having regard to the constitution of the Russian Federation,

– having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas on 22 March 2022, Moscow’s Lefortovo District Court convicted Alexei Navalny to nine years in a maximum security prison, based on a trial that does not meet international standards; whereas the court found him guilty of ‘fraud on an especially large scale’ and ‘contempt of court’; whereas Mr Navalny was arrested in January 2021; whereas the European Court of Human Rights ruled that seven arrests of Mr Navalny from 2012 to 2014 violated his right to a fair trial; whereas Navalny was the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve agent in August 2020;

B. whereas the death of Alexei Navalny was confirmed at 14.17 local time (9.17 Greenwich Mean Time) on Friday 16 February; whereas the cause of Alexei Navalny’s death remains officially undetermined; whereas the Russian prison service claims that he died of acute heart failure; whereas no independent autopsy or investigation into the cause of death was conducted; whereas the official version of Alexei Navalny’s death has been met with widespread scepticism and disbelief; whereas the Russian authorities only returned Alexei Navalny’s body to his mother eight days after his death;

C. whereas violations of the human rights not to be arbitrarily arrested or detained, to peaceful assembly and to freedom of expression are part of a wider trend of repressing dissent in Russia that has been going on for many years, including the adoption of laws broadening the notion of ‘foreign agents’ and ‘undesirable foreign organisations’; whereas many democratic rights and civic freedoms guaranteed by the Russian constitution are not ensured; whereas the Russian Federation continuously breaches international law and commitments; whereas a crackdown on independent civil society in Russia targeting non-governmental organisations, human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, as well as women’s rights, LGBTIQ+ persons’ rights and environmental activists, and activists for ethnic and cultural minorities, has had a devastating effect on the lives and freedoms of people from minorities, LGBTIQ+ persons, women, and all people not adhering to the prevailing norms or criticising the regime and the policies of the Russian leaders; whereas an active civil society and free media are crucial to democratic and open societies, as well as to safeguarding human rights; whereas the current Russian regime is far-right, authoritarian and ultra-nationalist;

D. whereas on 15 March 2022, Russia decided to leave the Council of Europe; whereas, as a result, Russian citizens are now deprived of the protection enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and denied access to judicial remedies at the European Court of Human Rights;

1. Expresses deep sorrow and outrage at the death of Alexei Navalny while serving a politically motivated prison sentence;

2. Condemns the Russian authorities for failing to ensure Navalny’s safety and well-being, and for failing to attend to his health issues, while in custody;

3. Condemns the Russian authorities for the inordinate and undue delay in giving Navalny’s family and their representatives access to his body;

4. Calls for a full and independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Alexei Navalny, in full transparency and without further delay; stresses that this independent investigation must be conclusive and stresses that the perpetrators must be held accountable in order to provide justice for Navalny and his family; calls for an immediate end to impunity;

5. Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Russia;

6. Condemns the ongoing human rights violations and the shrinking space for civil society in Russia; expresses deep concern over the Russian Government’s continuous and relentless crackdown on the opposition, including against those opposing Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine such as Alexey Sakhin; condemns the growing repression of those opposing and fleeing the war;

7. Stresses that efforts to silence civil society are not isolated incidents, but confirm a pattern of oppression and shrinking space for critical voices and civil society in Russia; condemns the developments towards ever more authoritarianism and the shrinking space of the extra-parliamentary opposition and civil society in Russia;

8. Calls on the Russian authorities to end the persecution of opponents to Putin, of civil society and of independent media, and to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and secure environment for civil society organisations, protesters and media outlets, enabling them to carry out their legitimate and useful work without interference such as the threat of violence, torture, harassment, and financial, economic, legal or political pressure;

9. Calls for the EU and its Member States to provide support to civil society organisations and human rights defenders; calls for the EU to support the establishment of a network of human rights defenders to monitor and report on human rights violations;

10. Calls for the EU and its Member States to use all available diplomatic channels to raise human rights concerns with the Russian authorities and to press for the release of political prisoners and the protection of civil society in Russia;

11. Calls for the EU and its Member States to work with international partners, including the United Nations and the Council of Europe, in promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms;

12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the President, Government and Parliament of the Russian Federation, the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.