Antony Blinken has just been confirmed as US Secretary of State, the G7 Foreign Ministers (Germany, France, Italy, Canada, the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom) and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, “united in condemning the politically motivated arrest and detention of Alexei Navalny”, Tuesday 26 January.
“It is deplorable that Mr Navalny is being detained in relation to court decisions which the European Court of Human Rights determined in 2017 to be arbitrary and manifestly unreasonable”, the Ministers and the High Representative said in a joint statement, calling on the Russian authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally. “Russia is bound by its national and international obligations to respect and ensure human rights”, they said.
The G7 also recalls its condemnation “in the strongest possible terms” of the poisoning of the political opponent in August 2020, describing any use of chemical weapons as unacceptable and calling on the Russian authorities “to investigate and credibly explain” the use of a chemical weapon on their soil.
“The confirmed use of chemical weapons against an opposition politician, as well as Mr Navalny’s latest detention further undermine democracy, independent voices, and political plurality in Russia” the Ministers and the High Representative denounced.
Also deeply concerned about the detention of thousands of peaceful demonstrators and journalists, they call on Russia to respect its national and international obligations and “release those detained arbitrarily for exercising their right of peaceful assembly on 23 January. The violent suppression by police forces of the right of individuals to express their opinion is unacceptable”, denounces the G7, adding that these events confirm a “continuous negative pattern” of reducing space for the opposition, civil society, human rights defenders and independent voices in Russia.
Ministers and the High Representative warn that they will continue to monitor the situation closely. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)