Alexey Navalny
The European Union (EU) called on Russia for the immediate and unconditional release of Alexei Navalny (the founder of the FBK – the fund is included by the Ministry of Justice in the register of organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent) . This is stated in the statement of the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell.
In addition, the EU called for the release of all citizens and journalists who were detained during unauthorized actions. “The EU condemns the decision of the Russian authorities on Navalny's verdict and considers it unacceptable, since it is politically motivated and contradicts Russia's international human rights obligations,” the document says.
In October 2017, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) did not find a political motive in the actions of the security forces against the Navalny brothers, but declared the Yves Rocher trial unfair. The court ruled to pay each of them 10 thousand euros, as well as pay legal costs to Alexei Navalny (in the amount of 45 thousand euros) and compensate the costs of his brother Oleg (11 thousand euros and 460 thousand rubles).
Earlier it was reported that the EU foreign ministers would discuss further steps towards Russia due to the situation around the oppositionist. What exactly these steps might consist of and whether they imply the introduction of sanctions against Russia was not specified.
The day before, on February 2, the Simonovsky court in Moscow replaced Navalny's suspended sentence with a real one. Thus, the oppositionist was sentenced to 3.5 years in a general regime colony, but he will spend two years and eight months in prison, taking into account the year spent under house arrest during the preliminary investigation of the Yves Rocher case.
After the verdict was announced, calls for an uncoordinated action appeared on social networks. Security measures were stepped up in the center of Moscow; at the request of the police, the Okhotny Ryad, Ploshchad Revolyutsii, Teatralnaya and Aleksandrovsky Sad metro stations were closed until further notice. Detentions took place at Manezhnaya Square.
