EP Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) and the Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (D-RU) exchange views on the inhuman detention and death of Alexei NAVALNY, 2021 Sakharov Price Laureate. MEPs also discuss the state of Russia’s democratic opposition movement ahead of the country’s presidential elections scheduled for 15-17 March 2024, as well as the situation of all those Russian opposition voices currently behind bars. The following guests give testimonies to MEPs: Leonid VOLKOV, Chief of staff of Alexei Navalny, Anti-Corruption Foundation, Evgenia KARA-MURZA, Advocacy Director at the Free Russia Foundation, wife of political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Vladimir MILOV, Vice-President of the Free Russia Foundation, former Vice-Minister of Energy of Russia.

Committee on Foreign Affairs

Brussels

exchange of views

Subcommittee on Human Rights

EU - Russia (T)

respect for human rights in the world (T)

NAVALNY, Alexei (RU)

MILOV, Vladimir (RU)

Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought 2021 (T)

VOLKOV, Leonid

Death of Alexei Navalny and state of the Russian opposition: extracts from the exchange of views - AFET, DROI Subcommittee and Delegation for relations with Russia

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/74951332/1708424364670_I253226Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

SOUNDBITE (English), David MCALLISTER, (EPP, DE) chair of AFET (Committee on Foreign Affairs), Colleagues, we decided to convene this extraordinary exchange of views to pay tribute to the memory of Alexei Navalny, a true modern day hero. In December 2021, and we all recall this, the European Parliament honored his cause with a Sakharov Prize. He sacrificed his life in order to pursue his fight to liberate Russia from the current evil, brutal and corrupt regime.

SOUNDBITE (English), David MCALLISTER, (EPP, DE) chair of AFET (Committee on Foreign Affairs), 'Russia's political leadership must be held accountable, and the EU may resort to impose further sanctions to this aim. The truth must be told. Accountability must be ensured and justice must be served. The first important test for the Russian opposition will be the forthcoming so-called so-called presidential elections, scheduled in just over three weeks, ahead of which, for repression of the opposition in the Russian Federation is reaching levels unseen since the darkest times of the Soviet Union.

SOUNDBITE (English), David MCALLISTER, (EPP, DE) chair of AFET (Committee on Foreign Affairs), Before we stop the exchange of views, colleagues, may I ask you to have a minute of silence? I invite all who are present to stand up.

'SOUNDBITE (English), Leonid VOLKOV, Chief of staff of Alexei Navalny, Anti-Corruption Foundation If I dream about what the best possible response could be, it is like, go after Putin's friends. Seize their assets that we have found, that we have investigated.

'SOUNDBITE (English), Evgenia KARA-MURZA, Advocacy Director at the Free Russia Foundation, wife of political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza Political assassination is not a new thing for us. Anna Politkovskaja a journalist with Novaja Gazeta, was assassinated in 2006. Novaja Gazeta alone lost six employees to political assassinations over the years. Alexei Navalny survived a poisoning attack on him before the regime threw him in prison, tortured him for three years and actually succeeded in killing him.

'SOUNDBITE (English), Evgenia KARA-MURZA, Advocacy Director at the Free Russia Foundation, wife of political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza My husband, who survived two assassination attacks on him in 2015 and 2017, is still there, behind bars, still alive for now. Sentenced to 25 years of strict regime for consistently opposing the regime of Vladimir Putin. All this is happening in the atmosphere of total censorship and propaganda used by the regime to create a warped, Soviet style, image of reality in which the entire population stands behind Putin and his war in aggression of Ukraine. Meanwhile, hundreds of people got arrested over the last few days for just laying flowers to commemorate Alexei Navalny.

'SOUNDBITE (English), Evgenia KARA-MURZA, Advocacy Director at the Free Russia Foundation, wife of political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza With all independent media banned and blocked, civil society institutions destroyed and international observers and reporters consistently denied entry to the country we have only vague idea of the scale of repression that is happening in Russia. This is why it is crucially important to support, including financially, the work of those independent journalists, civil society groups and lawyers who do their best to monitor this situation.

'SOUNDBITE (English), Vladimir MILOV, Vice-President of the Free Russia Foundation, former Vice-Minister of Energy of Russia I repeat that yet again: inaction matters. Any inaction on retaliating to a brutal, blatant murder of Alexei Navalny and any inaction to Putin's continuing aggression against Ukraine will be taken by Putin as a sign of weakness? That's his language that he understands. So action is necessary.

'SOUNDBITE (English), Vladimir MILOV, Vice-President of the Free Russia Foundation, former Vice-Minister of Energy of Russia Recently, ahead of the presidential elections a polling company have published a poll when they asked people an open question: naming no specific names, but asking them, ideally, if you wanted to vote for any person you choose, who would you vote for? And Vladimir Putin only got 29% in their poll.

'SOUNDBITE (English), Vladimir MILOV, Vice-President of the Free Russia Foundation, former Vice-Minister of Energy of Russia I mentioned this in one of our latest hearings right here. Alexey Navalny was second way above all the prime ministers, ministers of the Russian government. Many of you are asking the question, why did Putin try to kill him? This is what.