78 European parliamentarians and senators, including 39 MEPs, voiced their concern on Thursday 8 April about the health condition of imprisoned Russian political opponent Alexei Navalny.
He is said to be suffering from severe back pain and loss of feeling in parts of his legs. He has been denied any medical treatment and prison guards wake him up every hour at night.
“Russian authorities with its secret services tried to kill Alexei Navalny last August, they may now be attempting the same, in a slower, even more cynical way”, the parliamentarians said in a joint statement.
The parliamentarians, including MEPs from the EPP, Renew Europe, ECR, S&D, and Greens/EFA Groups from Lithuania, Poland, France, Spain, Hungary, Latvia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Austria, are urging Russia to allow medical treatment for Mr Navalny immediately and to release him from prison.
“We call on the EU Council as well as EU Member States’ leaders to reach out to Russian authorities to request the immediate release of Alexei Navalny”, the statement adds, calling on the Council of the EU to instruct the EU ambassador to Russia to organise, together with partners from the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, a visit of the prison and meet with the Russian opponent.
See the statement: https://bit.ly/3wJNtFp (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)