MEPS Slam Kremlin For Human Rights Abuses
Speaking ahead of the Russian government's scheduled visit to Brussels, members of the European Parliament have expressed their strong concern about what they consider the malfunctioning of the Kremlin's systems of governance and justice, reports Europolitics.
In its draft motion for a resolution on the rule of law in Russia, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) group in the European Parliament called on the member states to consider imposing "an EU entry ban" on some sixty Russian officials involved in the death of Sergei Magnitsky. Liberals also "encouraged" the EU's law enforcement agencies to "cooperate" in freezing these officials' bank accounts and other assets.
Speaking on behalf of the ALDE group, on February 15 in Strasbourg, Estonian MEP Kristiina Ojuland argued that the EU should react equally strongly to human rights violations in Russia as it does in other countries.
All the other groups joined the Liberals in voicing strong criticism of the state of the rule of law in Russia, calling on the Kremlin to embark on real reforms of its system of governance and justice. They strongly condemned, in particular, the handling of the criminal trial against Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, and the case of Sergei Magnitsky.
There was also a general agreement that the Russian authorities have to radically uphold human rights in the country. A vote on the joint motion for a resolution is planned for February 17.
The debate was held ahead of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to the European Commission, on February 24.