Press Release
Published on March 2, 2021
WASHINGTON – Human Rights First welcomes announcements today from both the European Union and the United States government of sanctions against multiple Russian government officials and entities involved in the poisoning and imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the repression of his supporters.
“It is encouraging to see the EU use this opportunity to implement their new Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime for the first time, especially considering that they used it in a coordinated, multilateral manner,” said Scott Johnston, Human Rights First’s Associate Attorney for Human Rights Accountability. “Sanctions have increased credibility, they send a more powerful message, and exact significantly tougher financial and travel penalties when they are implemented multilaterally. In the coming days, I hope to see the United States and EU – along with the United Kingdom and Canada – continue to collaborate to hold accountable all Russian officials known to have been involved in and responsible for Navalny’s poisoning and arbitrary detention.”
Human Rights First applauds the EU’s 27 member states for coming together to unanimously condemn the illicit actions of the Russian government and encourages continued and robust implementation of the regime against other human rights abusers across the globe.
Today’s multilateral sanctions send a clear message to the Kremlin that committing serious human rights abuses in an effort to uphold Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime are a dangerous affront to international norms and will be met with significant consequences.
