On Wednesday, the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament (President and heads of political groups) made the following statement on the death of Alexei Navalny.
We, the leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament, express our outrage following the murder of 2021 Sakharov Prize winner Alexei Navalny in a Siberian penal colony beyond the Arctic Circle, serving an unjustified prison sentence. We pay tribute to his memory and express our deepest condolences to his wife Yulia Navalnaya and their children, his mother, his family and friends, his collaborators and his countless supporters in Russia.
Full responsibility for this assassination lies with the Russian state and in particular with its President Vladimir Putin. The truth must be told, accountability must be ensured and justice must be served. We demand that Alexei Navalny’s body be returned to his family immediately. Any further delay further increases the responsibility of the Russian authorities for the death of Alexei Navalny. We demand an international and independent investigation into the exact circumstances of Alexei Navalny’s death.
Alexei Navalny has become the embodiment of the Russian people’s struggle for freedom and democracy. His death only underlines the importance of his fight for a different Russia. Since his arrest, he has been subjected to ill-treatment, torture, arbitrary sanctions and psychological pressure. Although imprisoned in inhumane conditions, Alexei Navalny tirelessly and courageously continued his fight, denouncing the regime’s corruption.
We, leaders of political groups, remain united in our condemnation of this crime of the Russian regime and its imperialist and neocolonial policies. The EU, its Member States and like-minded partners around the world must continue their political, economic and military support for Ukraine. With this in mind, we welcome the very recent 13th sanctions package adopted by the Council. To honor the legacy of Alexei Navalny, we must stand with independent Russian civil society and the democratic opposition, continually calling for the release of all political prisoners.
We are encouraged by reports that Russian citizens are paying tribute to Alexei Navalny in cities and towns across Russia. We express our hope that similar actions will continue to show that the Russian people do not support a regime that advocates draconian repression inside the country and a brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. The life, political action and death of Alexei Navalny bear witness to the fight against apparent apathy, indifference and abandonment. May he continue to encourage and inspire.
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