Navalny sentenced - quote from Sergey Lagodinsky MEP

Today, the Moscow District Court has sentenced Alexei Navalny to three and a half years in prison for allegedly violating parole conditions. Commenting on the verdict and the upcoming visit of Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Sergey Lagodinsky MEP, Greens/EFA group spokesperson on Russia, comments:

"We condemn the mass arrests of demonstrators and the brutality of the Russian security forces. It is a huge mistake for the Russian government to stoke tensions with its own population and the international community. Alexei Navalny and all other political prisoners must be released immediately; trials against opposition members and demonstrators for allegedly breaching COVID regulations, calling for, or participating in 'unauthorised assemblies' or allegedly politically inciting minors are grotesque. Today's verdict and the crackdown by the security forces and judiciary show that Navalny and the demonstrators have hit a nerve.

"The Russian people need the backing of the European Union. We call on the High Representative for Foreign Affairs to actively seek dialogue with Alexei Navalny and members of the independent opposition during his visit to Moscow.

"The German government must abandon the anti-European Nord Stream 2 project. For years we have been calling on the German government to halt this gas project. As well as seeking appropriate sanctions, the EU must also strengthen European anti-money laundering measures to put a stop to corrupt oligarchs laundering money through Europe. The corrupt Russian elite must not continue to abuse the European Union as a money laundering haven."