The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, repeated today the Union's earlier call to Moscow to release the prominent Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalny from prison, in accordance with the temporary measure previously adopted by the European Court of Human Rights, the European External Action Service (EEAS) announced. .
"We condemn the outlawing of Mr. Navalny's organization and his regional offices as so-called 'extremist groups', and the continued persecution and imprisonment of Navalny and members of his team," Borel said, according to the EEAS statement.
It is added that the measures previously taken against Navalny by the prison authorities are "unjustified", and that the EU will hold the Russian authorities responsible for his safety and health.
"We are witnessing with regret that Russia's unjustified, illegal war against Ukraine has only intensified Russia's internal repression and systematic confrontations with the most vocal critics of the Kremlin and civil society as a whole," the EEAS statement said.
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Navalny, a political foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was arrested in January 2021 after returning from Germany, where he was recovering from nerve agent poisoning, which he blamed on the Kremlin.
He received two years in prison for violating the terms of his parole while outside Russia.
In March, Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of fraud and contempt of court, which he called a politically motivated attempt by Russian authorities to keep him behind bars for as long as possible.
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