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

B90150/2024

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 its previous resolutions on Russia, in particular those concerning Alexei Navalny and the human rights situation in the country,

– having regard to the statement by its Conference of Presidents of 21 February 2024 on the death of Alexei Navalny,

– having regard to the joint statement by the Commission President and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 16 February 2024 on the death of Alexei Navalny,

– having regard to the statement by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 19 February 2024 on behalf of the European Union on the death of Alexei Navalny,

– having regard to the statement by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, Mariana Katzarova, of 22 February 2024,

– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights,

– having regard to the opinion piece co-signed by the Chairs of the European Parliament’s PPE, S&D, Renew and Left Groups entitled ‘Let’s work to ensure that the end of the East-West confrontation is the beginning of a new era of democracy and prosperity’, published in Le Monde on 4 April 2022,

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

A. whereas Alexei Navalny, a prominent Russian opposition figure and the 2021 Sakharov Prize laureate, was killed in a Siberian penal colony, reportedly on 16 February 2024, while serving an unjust prison sentence; whereas the killing of Alexei Navalny is yet another sign of the increasing and systematic repression in Russia;

B. whereas through his work, Alexei Navalny exposed the illegalities and corruption at the heart of the Putin regime;

C. whereas in August 2020, Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the Novichok nerve agent by the Kremlin regime; whereas he had been held in detention since 17 January 2021, following his brave return to Russia;

D. whereas from the moment of his arrest, Navalny endured a series of human rights violations, including ill treatment, torture, arbitrary punishment and psychological pressure, which highlights the systematic challenges faced by those opposing the Russian regime;

E. whereas Alexei Navalny’s health deteriorated due to mistreatment and a lack of proper medical care;

F. whereas Navalny’s unwavering dedication to the fight against corruption and for a more democratic Russia persisted even under inhumane prison conditions, illustrating his commitment to the principles of democracy and justice;

G. whereas Navalny’s lawyers are being harassed and three of them have been in pre-trial custody since October 2023;

H. whereas the EU has repeatedly condemned his poisoning and all politically motivated rulings against him for his legitimate political and anti-corruption activities and called for his immediate and unconditional release;

I. whereas Russian citizens have been paying tribute to Alexei Navalny across the country and in the diaspora; whereas hundreds have been detained across Russia at rallies commemorating Navalny and there are reports that several of the men arrested were issued military summonses; whereas the EU Ambassador to Russia, Roland Galharague, and many of his counterparts from the Member States, the UK and the US were among those who honoured Alexei Navalny’s memory at the Solovetsky Stone in Moscow;

J. whereas since the re-launch of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the Russian authorities have increased their repression of political opposition, the media and civil society;

K. whereas anti-war candidates have been prevented from standing in the forthcoming 2024 presidential elections in Russia;

L. whereas Vladimir Putin, against whom the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in March 2023 in connection with the illegal deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children, is seeking to be ‘re-elected’ as President of the Russian Federation;

M. whereas independent war reporting and protests against the war are banned and criminalised by law in Russia; whereas according to Amnesty International, more than 21 000 anti-war activists were subjected to serious reprisals in Russia in 2022;

N. whereas dozens of journalists have recently been arrested in Russia for covering demonstrations by the wives, mothers, sisters and children of Russian men mobilised to fight against Ukraine;

O. whereas there are clear signs that a significant part of the Russian population does not support new efforts to conscript more Russian men to fight against Ukraine and that they want the Putin regime to stop the war; whereas the people of Russia cannot be confused with the warmongering, autocratic and kleptocratic Kremlin regime;

P. whereas the human rights group Memorial has designated over 600 people as political prisoners in Russia;

Q. whereas the Putin regime’s severe curtailment of human rights in Russia is in clear contravention of the nation’s own constitution and legal framework, as well as a violation of Russia’s international obligations;

1. Expresses its strongest and most solemn condemnation of the murder of Alexei Navalny and underlines that the full responsibility for this political murder rests with the Russian state and its president Vladimir Putin;

2. Conveys its sincere condolences to Yulia Navalnaya, their children and the entirety of their family, while standing in solidarity with them and with all the other brave Russians who, despite widespread repression and severe personal consequences, continue to find the courage to speak the truth, to oppose Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and to uphold human values;

3. Pays solemn tribute to the life, anti-corruption and pro-democratic work and lasting legacy of Alexei Navalny, all of which serve as a powerful testimony to the fight against the oppressive Putin regime;

4. Urges the Russian authorities to allow Alexei Navalny’s family to organise a decent funeral, according to their wishes;

5. Demands an immediate, thorough, international and independent investigation into the precise circumstances surrounding the death of Alexei Navalny; emphasises the imperative need for accountability and justice; calls for the EU and its Member States to assume a leading role in coordinating and actively supporting this investigation;

6. Deplores and condemns the disinformation campaigns orchestrated by the Kremlin-controlled media that have sought to smear Alexei Navalny’s legacy and dignity both prior to and following his death, as well as that of his wife, family and close collaborators;

7. Expresses its support for the Russian citizens who have been paying tribute to Alexei Navalny and stands in solidarity with independent Russian civil society and the democratic opposition; calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Russia;

8. Urges the Council to adopt further tough sanctions, including under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (the EU Magnitsky Act), against all those involved in Navalny’s persecution and death, including political decision makers, intelligence officers, investigators, prosecutors, judges, prison directors and other high-level prison officials;

9. Urges the Council to adopt restrictive measures against those responsible for the arbitrary arrest and detention of Vladimir Kara-Murza, Ilya Yashin, Lilia Chanysheva, Ksenia Fadeeva, Alexei Gorinov, Yuri Dmitriev, Alexandra Skochilenko, Mikhail Afanasiev, Ivan Safronov and others prosecuted for their association with Alexei Navalny or for their opposition to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as of journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva;

10. Denounces the escalation of human rights violations by the Russian regime and condemns the ongoing crackdown on government critics, human rights defenders, anti-war activists, independent journalists and LGBTIQ activists; calls on the UN Human Rights Council to conduct an immediate investigation into the acts of inhuman imprisonment, torture and murder of political opponents;

11. Underlines that the killing of Alexei Navalny serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need to address the Putin regime’s repressive policies and to take a decisive stand against such actions;

12. Calls for the EU and its Member States to continue to show their unfailing solidarity with and to actively support independent Russian civil society and the democratic opposition, who are working to transform Russia into an open society where political rights, fundamental freedoms and human rights are respected, thereby fulfilling the aspirations of the Russian people to live in a free democratic open society and honouring the enduring legacy of Alexei Navalny;

13. Urges the EU and its Member States to enhance the EU’s strategic communication and capacity to address and prevent, in a timely manner, the spread of the ideology and propaganda of the Putin regime and its supporters; insists on the creation of new and support to existing Russian-language media channels to this end;

14. Reiterates its call for the diplomatic representations of the EU and its Member States to continue to closely monitor court proceedings against members of the Russian political opposition and their prison conditions; urges the Member States to provide humanitarian visas and other support to Russian dissidents at risk of political prosecution;

15. Underlines that, in the context of the increasingly repressive measures against political opponents and Russia’s intention to conduct presidential elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine from 15 to 17 March 2024, these elections cannot be considered to meet the basic international electoral standards and that it therefore will not recognise the results of these illegal, manipulated, unfair and non-competitive elections;

16. Calls for the EU, its Member States and like-minded global partners to increase their political, economic and military support to Ukraine; welcomes the recent 13th package of sanctions adopted by the Council and calls for further measures to deter Russian aggression, such as the expansion of the EU sanctions lists, including the Magnitsky sanctions list, taking into account the 6 000 individuals named by Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation; calls for the Russian Central Bank’s frozen assets to be confiscated and channelled into the Ukraine Facility;

17. Calls for the EU and its Member States to further support the documentation of human rights violations in the Russian Federation, to support turning the examination by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights of the human rights situation in the Russian Federation into a fully independent investigative mechanism, to uphold the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation and to further accountability through extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction;

18. 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 Member States, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Russian authorities, and to make it available in the Russian language.