On Friday 26 January, the spokesman for the European External Action Service denounced the “witch hunt” being conducted against opponents of the Russian regime.
“Russia uses its legislation on foreign agents to conduct a witch hunt against its own citizens especially those who are critical of the regime, labelling them as traitors”, he denounced to the media.
The spokesman made his statement on a Friday, as this is the day on which the Russians usually announce new lists of so-called foreign agents. He said that in Russia, Friday is “the day of repression”.
“So-called foreign agents are victims of repressive legislative and deserve our solidarity”, stressed the spokesman, who promised that the EU would continue to support Russian civil society, human rights defenders and independent media inside and outside Russia.
At present, 753 people, organisations and media outlets have been declared ‘foreign agents’, including artists, researchers, independent journalists and critical thinkers, “who are trying to move the country forward by discussing and questioning issues of the past and present”, the spokesman said.
The foreign agents law was introduced in 2012 and has since been strengthened on several occasions. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)