On the murder of Alexei Navalny and the need for EU action in support of political prisoners and oppressed civil society in Russia

B90152/2024

European Parliament resolution on the murder of Alexei Navalny and the need for EU action in support of political prisoners and oppressed civil society in Russia

(2024/2579(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to its previous resolutions on Russia,

–having regard to the statement by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 19 February 2024 on behalf of the European Union on the death of Alexei Navalny,

–having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.whereas the 2021 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought was awarded to Alexei Navalny; whereas Alexei Navalny had been imprisoned since February 2021 in inhumane conditions, and his last place of detention was in Yamalo-Nenets, in western Siberia, where he was murdered on 16 February 2024;

B.whereas Alexei Navalny became the embodiment of the struggle of the Russian people for freedom and democracy; whereas he tirelessly and courageously continued his fight, denouncing the corruption of the regime;

C.whereas Alexei Navalny was murdered in prison by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his cronies, by those who have taken control of Russia and are striving to kill Alexei Navalny’s dream of a different, democratic, ‘wonderful Russia of the future’ and to steal this dream and hope from the Russian people;

D.whereas Russia is not just Putin, and Putin does not represent the whole of Russia; whereas the murder of Alexei Navalny will not end the hope for the Russia he believed in; whereas this hope will stay with the Russian population until Russia’s transformation into a democracy;

E.whereas the West should stand with the democratic forces in Russia in their efforts to transform Russia according to the dreams of Alexei Navalny and many ordinary Russians, because this is the only way to establish long-lasting peace and stability on the European continent; whereas such a transformation can happen only if Ukraine, with Western assistance, defeats Russia; whereas our Western democracies also owe this path towards long-lasting peace to the Ukrainian soldiers and those who, like Alexei Navalny, have taken a stand against dictatorships and tyrannies;

F.whereas providing full-scale military support to Ukraine to defend itself and to defeat Putin in his war of aggression is an underlying principle of the EU’s policy; whereas the West should be not afraid of Ukraine’s victory, because this victory will open a window of opportunity in Russia for a democratic transition, which is also part of Alexei Navalny’s dream;

G.whereas the West and the EU, in order to end the biggest and most constant threat coming from authoritarian Russia, should invest not only in NATO’s deterrent and defence strategies, not only in their own EU and national military capabilities, but also in the realisation of Alexei Navalny’s dream through: (a) the achievement of Ukraine’s victory and its integration towards the EU and NATO, because that is how the post-imperial nostalgia in Russia can be diminished and the legacy of Putin’s regime destroyed; and (b) by EU strategic and regular support to the Russian opposition and civil society and the development of an EU engagement strategy with the different, democratic, ‘wonderful Russia of the future’ that strengthens the hope of the ordinary Russian people;

H.whereas Alexei Navalny’s murder in a remote Arctic penal colony is an international crime for which Putin should be held accountable, because Alexei Navalny was sent there and murdered on Putin’s orders;

I.whereas the EU should respond effectively to the unprecedented repressions in Russia, the massive forced mobilisation and the total control that is exercised over society through a regime of fear and warmongering; whereas these crimes can be qualified as crimes against humanity, and the EU, at its level, should start the necessary preparations to begin the process for international justice;

J.whereas the EU and the rest of the free world need to offer solidarity, action and engagement with representatives of Russian democracy, as they do not want dictatorship or oppression in their country;

K.whereas the EU should support the efforts of ordinary Russian people, as well as the Russian opposition and civil society, to make Alexei Navalny’s dream a reality;

L.whereas the EU’s responsibility is to defend Alexei Navalny’s hope and to safeguard it for the people of Russia; whereas the legacy of Alexei Navalny should live through the EU’s daily work, as doing nothing is not an option;

M.whereas Europe can be united both for the victory of Ukraine and for the victory of democracy in Russia; whereas to unite in doing nothing would show very bad judgement;

N.whereas Parliament believes in the future of democracy in Russia; whereas the EU should have a strategy for the future of Russia, for Alexei Navalny’s Russia;

1.Expresses its outrage following the murder of Alexei Navalny; stresses that the full responsibility for this murder lies with the Russian state and Putin in particular;

2.Pays tribute to Alexei Navalny’s memory and expresses its condolences to his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and their children, his mother, family and friends, and his collaborators and supporters;

3.Demands an international and independent investigation into the murder of Alexei Navalny;

4.Stands with the independent Russian civil society and the democratic opposition; calls for the release of all political prisoners in Russia;

5.Calls for the EU institutions to declare that the forthcoming so-called presidential ‘elections’ are illegitimate, and that Putin’s presidency is illegitimate;

6.Calls for the EU to work out and adopt a comprehensible large-scale personal and sectoral sanctions list that works effectively against Putin and his closest political and economic entourage;

7.Calls for the EU institutions to develop a comprehensive long-term vision and strategy to help the Russian democratic forces and civil society to build a sustainable democracy in Russia after the collapse of Putin’s regime, which would allow Russia to prosper as a normal European country;

8.Calls for the EU to invest all the necessary resources in this strategy to make Alexei Navalny’s dream a reality, which will bring stability and peace and remove the threat of a post-imperial, authoritarian and aggressive Russian Federation;

9.Underlines that this strategy should include measures to offer structural and regular support and engagement with the democratic forces and civil society of Russia, both in Russia and in exile, as well as lay down the conditions of the Western assistance for Russia’s democratic transition; calls for the EU institutions to publish immediately the plan for the EU’s future political relations with a democratic Russia, which can be a new generation international agreement with the democratic Russia;

10.Calls on the Member States and the EU’s Western partners to see Ukraine’s victory and its Euro-Atlantic integration not only as a precondition for security and success, but also as one of the key EU policy instruments to assist positive transformations in the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood of Belarus and Russia;

11.Underlines that the EU and its Member States and like-minded partners around the world must continue their political, economic and military support for Ukraine; stresses that Ukraine’s victory and the end of the kleptocratic Putin regime will be the ultimate posthumous victory for Alexei Navalny;

12.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council and the Commission.