On the occasion of the second anniversary of the attempted poisoning of Alexei Navalny, the European Union once again condemned the attempted assassination of the Russian opposition leader and criticized the political repressions in the Russian Federation. “We are saddened to see how Russia’s unjustified, unprovoked and illegal war against Ukraine has only increased internal repression and systematic persecution of the Kremlin’s most outspoken critics and civil society at large,” said the EU’s High Representative for Relations. Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, in a statement. a statement released on the Telegram channel of the EU Delegation to Russia.

The statement emphasizes that the European Union continues to condemn the assassination attempt on Navalny and calls for a transparent investigation into the use of a chemical warfare agent by the Novichok family against the opposition.

Josep Borrell, criticizing the Russian authorities’ decision to ban Navalny’s organization and apply unreasonable disciplinary measures to the politician in the colony, again called on the Russian authorities to immediately release Navalny and fulfill his obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

naval poisoning

Alexei Navalny was poisoned on August 20, 2020. The politician lost consciousness aboard the Tomsk-Moscow plane, spent about three weeks in a coma and was later taken to Germany for treatment. In the Berlin clinic “Charite”, traces of “Novichok” were found on Navalny’s body. The Bellingcat investigation team and various media outlets concluded that a group of FSB officers was involved in the poisoning attempt. Russian authorities deny any involvement in the incident.

In January 2021, Navalny returned to Russia. He was immediately arrested and then arrested. The court sent him to a colony in the former “Yves Rocher” criminal case, replacing the suspended sentence with a real one, because Navalny, being in Germany for treatment, allegedly violated the rules for serving a suspended sentence.

Alexei Navalny was sent to a general regime colony and then transferred to a strict regime colony after being sentenced to 9 years in prison in a case of fraudulent donations from supporters. Navalny considers all cases against him political, human rights organizations agree with this assessment.