Jailed Russian Opposition Leader Navalny Wins Top EU Prize

BRUSSELS—Imprisoned Russian absorption person Alexei Navalny, who narrowly survived a poisoning that helium blames connected the Kremlin, was awarded the European Union’s apical quality rights prize Wednesday successful a wide slap astatine President Vladimir Putin.

In awarding the Sakharov Prize to Navalny, the European Parliament praised his “immense idiosyncratic bravery.” The 45-year-old activistic fell sick from a nervus cause poisoning past twelvemonth and recuperated successful Germany, past was promptly arrested upon his instrumentality to Moscow and aboriginal imprisoned.

“He has campaigned consistently against the corruption of Vladimir Putin’s regime, and done his societal media accounts and governmental campaigns, Navalny has helped exposure abuses and mobilize the enactment of millions of radical crossed Russia. For this, helium was poisoned and thrown successful jail,” parliament President David Sassoli successful a statement.

Sassoli called for the contiguous merchandise of Navalny, who is Putin’s biggest home foe.

Russian absorption person Alexei Navalny (R) poses for the property successful tribunal successful Moscow, Russia, connected March 30, 2017. (AP Photo)

There was nary contiguous absorption to the grant from the Kremlin, which denies immoderate engagement successful Navalny’s poisoning.

The designation of Navalny volition further sour relations betwixt the 27-nation bloc and Russia. These ties person been connected the diminution for years, particularly pursuing Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and its enactment for a separatist insurgency successful eastbound Ukraine.

The interaction reverberated beyond the EU arsenic well.

Days aft Russia suspended its ngo astatine NATO and ordered the closure of the alliance’s bureau successful Moscow successful retaliation for NATO’s expulsion of Russian diplomats, the organization’s main said helium embraced the news.

“I invited the information that a beardown dependable … successful Russia has been awarded this prize,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, adding that the prize besides was a telephone for “his unconditional merchandise from prison” and to person an planetary probe into it.

Stoltenberg recalled that NATO considered the attraction of Navalny arsenic portion of a “pattern wherever we spot that Russia has go much oppressive astatine location and much assertive abroad.”

Russia’s attraction of Navalny has lone exacerbated matters. The EU has been calling for his contiguous and unconditional merchandise successful what it sees arsenic a politically motivated imprisonment and has said it holds Moscow liable for his health.

The EU imposed sanctions past twelvemonth connected six elder Russian officials for their alleged engagement successful the poisoning of Navalny.

With the standoff betwixt Brussels and Moscow continuing, the determination by European legislators successful awarding the prize to Navalny enactment it backmost astatine the bosom of the governmental debate.

“It is an important signal, besides to the Kremlin, that the EU volition not springiness successful to unit and blackmail oregon beryllium fooled by bare promises,” said Sergey Lagodinsky, a Greens/EFA MEP from Germany.

Navalny’s apical subordinate Leonid Volkov said the prize showed that hundreds of lawmakers from antithetic countries and parties had reached a statement that the combat against corruption is an contented for each of Europe and that Navalny is “political captive No. 1 successful the satellite and Putin’s idiosyncratic captive.”

“Europe understands that we are warring to marque Russia a mean European country, which it volition become, and supports it,” helium said successful a station connected Facebook.

Ruslan Shaveddinov, different subordinate of Navalny’s team, told The Associated Press that “Russian authorities whitethorn privation this to beryllium forgotten arsenic soon arsenic possible, but we spot that European politicians judge that this contented is important and nonstop rather a wide connection that nary 1 forgot and that they request Alexei Navalny’s release.”

He said Navalny’s associates volition bash everything imaginable to triumph his freedom, and volition proceed their anti-corruption investigations, governmental and nationalist campaigns and protests.

EU overseas argumentation main Josep Borell tweeted that the prize is simply a designation of Navalny’s “commitment to defending ideology successful Russia, astatine large idiosyncratic cost,” adding that the EU wants his “immediate and unconditional release.”

Awarding the prize to Navalny “will support his sanction successful the news,” which is simply a precedence for his supporters, said Ben Noble, subordinate prof of Russian authorities astatine University College London.

It’s improbable to amended his conditions successful situation oregon assistance his presumption “as it presently stands,” added Noble, co-author of “Navalny: Putin’s Nemesis, Russia’s Future?”

He told AP that 1 worrying accusation is that the grant “could person a antagonistic effect — that this adds to Moscow’s communicative of overseas interference, of what they assertion is simply a concerted Western effort to interfere successful the country’s home affairs.”

The EU award, named for Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, was created successful 1988 to grant individuals oregon groups who support quality rights and cardinal freedoms. Sakharov, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, died successful 1989.

It was the 2nd consecutive twelvemonth it has gone to those challenging authoritarian leaders. Last year, it went to the Belarus absorption question and its leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, for their situation to President Alexander Lukashenko’s regularisation pursuing a wide disputed predetermination successful 2020.