Politics

EU to sanction Russian officials over Navalny’s death: diplomatic source

EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday gave the go-ahead for a legal framework to impose sanctions on Russia over the death of anti-Kremlin opposition leader Alexei Navalny, an EU diplomat told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) under the condition of anonymity.

Details of the type of restrictive measures to be applied and the individuals covered should be known this week.

The diplomats’ Monday decision comes as a consequence of, among other things, a letter from eight EU countries, including Poland. In the letter, published in late November, the countries called for sanctions against Russian prosecutors, courts, and prison officials in connection with Navalny’s death.

The appeal, addressed by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, was signed by the heads of diplomacy of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Sweden, and Romania.

Navalny was the Kremlin’s most prominent political opponent, even though the Russian government never allowed him to participate in the presidential election. He was arrested in January 2021 and imprisoned, and on February 16 this year prison authorities announced his death in a penal colony beyond the Arctic Circle.
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