European Parliament resolution of 16 February 2023 on the inhuman imprisonment conditions of Alexei Navalny (2023/2553(RSP))
Date: 2023-02-16
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: EU restrictive measure, Russia, civil society, cruel and degrading treatment, democracy, human rights, imprisonment, political opposition, political prisoner, torture








C_2023283EN.01001601.xml










11.8.2023   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 283/16






P9_TA(2023)0051
The recent deterioration of the inhuman imprisonment conditions of Alexey Navalny and other political prisoners in Russia
European Parliament resolution of 16 February 2023 on the inhuman imprisonment conditions of Alexei Navalny (2023/2553(RSP))
(2023/C 283/05)

The European Parliament,






—


having regard to its previous resolutions on Russia,










—


having regard to Rule 144(5) and 132(4) of its Rules of Procedure,










A.


whereas Alexei Navalny, a prominent Russian political figure and laureate of the 2021 Sakharov Prize, who was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent by the Kremlin regime, has been detained since 17 January 2021 and is currently incarcerated in a penal colony;










B.


whereas since his arrest, Navalny has been subjected to ill-treatment, including torture, arbitrary punishment and psychological pressure; whereas Navalny has not had visitors for the last eight months;










C.


whereas Navalny is due to stand trial in March or April 2023 on new charges, and risks a further prison sentence of up to 35 years;










D.


whereas since the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine, the Russian authorities have increased their repression of political opposition and civil society;










E.


whereas the Kremlin’s behaviour towards political opponents and political prisoners, including Navalny, reveals its brutal nature, as does its war against both Ukraine and democratically-minded Russians;












1.


Stands together with Alexei Navalny and all other brave Russian political prisoners in their fight for democracy in Russia;












2.


Calls for the release of Navalny and all other political prisoners in Russia, including Dmitry Ivanov, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Ioann Kurmoyarov, Viktoria Petrova, Maria Ponomarenko, Aleksandra Skochilenko, Dmitry Talantov, Aleksei Gorinov, Ilya Yashin and others who have been prosecuted solely for their association with Navalny, their opposition to the war of aggression against Ukraine or under Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code;












3.


Demands that, pending their release, the conditions in which Navalny and all other prisoners are detained be brought into compliance with Russia’s international obligations, in particular regarding Navalny’s access to doctors of his choice and medical treatment in a civilian hospital, his right to move to a pre-trial facility with access to his lawyers, and communication with his family;












4.


Reiterates its calls for the EU institutions to continue monitoring the human rights situation in Russia; urges the EU to support Russian civil society; urges Member States to provide assistance to Russian human rights defenders, pro-democracy activists and independent journalists in and outside of Russia;












5.


Stresses that both Ukraine and democracy in Russia must be victorious, and that both victories will also be victories for Alexei Navalny; calls for the EU and the whole democratic community to have a clear strategy to assist in both victories as the best demonstration of our solidarity with Alexei Navalny and all others who are fighting for the democratic future of Russia;












6.


Stresses that Putin must be put on trial for crimes against his own population;












7.


Urges the Council to adopt restrictive measures against those responsible for arbitrary prosecutions and torture against anti-war protesters;












8.


Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the Russian authorities.