News

On 2 February, on the initiative of Lithuania, the Foreign Ministers of the Baltic states sent letters to the heads of the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), condemning the use of violence against peaceful protesters by Russian authorities and calling on the international community to take immediate action to stop mass detentions of protestors and journalists across Russia.

The Baltic Foreign Ministers raise alarm at the growing repression of human rights defenders, civil society and the media in Russia, and call for an investigation into human rights violations. According to the Foreign Ministers, these actions have also violated Russia’s international obligations, including the principles for the protection and promotion of human rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.

“Together with our Baltic counterparts, we express hope that the OSCE and the CoE will take prompt action and all possible measures to stop police brutality against protesters and will demand the release of those Russian citizens, who have been detained arbitrarily, including Alexei Navalny,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis.

In additon, the Baltic Foreign Ministers also note that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Russia’s previous arrests of Navalny were arbitrary and politically motivated.

According to independent Russian media outlets, over 5,000 people, including more than 90 journalists, were arrested amid demonstrations across Russia on 31 January alone.