One day after the election in Russia, the EU agreed on further sanctions against the country – in response to the death of Kremlin critic Navalny. The target of the punitive measures is primarily the judicial system.
The EU is imposing sanctions in response to the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in a Russian prison camp. At a meeting in Brussels, the foreign ministers of the member states agreed on punitive measures against representatives of the Russian justice system. This is reported by the dpa news agency, citing diplomatic circles.
The new EU punitive measures are to be imposed using a sanctions instrument to punish serious human rights violations. Affected people are no longer allowed to enter the EU and no longer do business with EU citizens. In addition, their EU accounts and other assets must be frozen.
Sanctions are intended to preserve Navalny’s memory
According to the wishes of the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the EU sanctions instrument for punishing serious human rights violations should in future bear Navalny’s name. This is intended to keep Navalny’s memory alive, said Borrell.
Kremlin critic Navalny, who was sentenced to a long prison sentence, died in a prison camp in Siberia in mid-February. The circumstances of his death are still unclear to this day. Germany and the other 26 EU states accuse Putin and the Russian authorities of being to blame for the politician’s death. Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya even assumes that her husband was murdered in the camp.