On Thursday 16 December, the European Parliament adopted a joint resolution by the Greens/EFA, S&D, Renew Europe, ECR and EPP groups (569 votes in favour, 46 against and 49 abstentions) condemning the continued persecution of ‘International Memorial’ and the ‘Memorial’ Human Rights Centre, and attempts to close down these organisations on political grounds in Russia.
The Russian authorities should immediately drop all charges against Memorial and allow it to continue its activities in complete safety without any state interference, say MEPs. The European Parliament also calls for the adoption of sanctions, under the human rights sanctions regime, against Russian officials involved in the ‘illegal’ repression of Memorial and in the legal proceedings against its organisations and members.
More broadly, MEPs called on Russia to stop its ongoing repression of civil society, human rights defenders and independent media. In their view, the EU Council, the European External Action Service and the Commission should integrate human rights and civil society consultation into all dialogue and areas of engagement between the EU, its Member States and Russia.
See the resolution: https://bit.ly/3sert5L (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)