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LONDON — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s sharpest professional and the country’s astir salient governmental prisoner, absorption person Alexei Navalny, was awarded a prestigious European prize connected Wednesday that recognizes his enactment successful defence of quality rights.
Navalny, 45, roseate to planetary prominence erstwhile helium was poisoned successful Russia connected Aug. 20, 2020, making a recovery in Germany earlier returning to Russia, wherever helium was instantly detained and aboriginal imprisoned. At the time, Washington condemned “Russia’s attempted assassination” of Navalny “with a chemic weapon” and sanctioned apical Russian officials and authorities agencies.
The European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought — named aft Soviet physicist and governmental dissident Andrei Sakharov — was launched successful 1988 to “honor exceptional individuals and organizations defending quality rights and cardinal freedoms,” according to the European Parliament. Previous winners have included Belarusian absorption figures, Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai.
“He has fought tirelessly against the corruption of Vladimir Putin’s regime. This outgo him his liberty and astir his life,” European Parliament President David Sassoli said successful announcing the grant to Navalny. “Today’s prize recognizes his immense bravery and we reiterate our telephone for his contiguous release.”
Pundits had speculated that Navalny whitethorn person been successful the moving for the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month, which alternatively went to Russian compatriot and paper exertion Dmitry Muratov and the investigative writer Maria Ressa of the Philippines. Navalny astatine the clip congratulated both.
In a determination apt to spark disapproval by the Kremlin, the leaders of the European Parliament picked the Russian dissident implicit the different nominees, which included a radical of Afghan women and an imprisoned Bolivian politician.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that ties betwixt the subject confederation and Russia had deed a nadir.
“The narration betwixt NATO and Russia is present astatine the lowest constituent since the extremity of the Cold War,” Stoltenberg told a quality league successful Brussels. He called for much dialog aft Moscow shuttered its imperishable ngo to NATO earlier this period and suspended the alliance’s liaison bureau there.
Stoltenberg, however, welcomed the European parliament’s determination to grant its apical quality rights prize to Navalny. “I deliberation it’s an important designation of the important relation helium has played for galore years successful supporting antiauthoritarian values and being a beardown dependable successful Russia,” Stoltenberg told reporters.
Constanze Stelzenmüller, a elder chap astatine the Brookings Institution, agreed that relations betwixt Europe and Russia were “worsening,” but said that Europe had “limited options.”
“There is simply a large woody of interest crossed Europe astir the mistreatment of Russian civilian nine by the Kremlin,” Stelzenmüller told The Post. “You tin work the prize arsenic a signaling from the European Parliament that they instrumentality the plight of civilian nine successful Russia precise seriously,” she said.
But the European prize whitethorn person small existent interaction connected Moscow, argues Jason Bush, a elder Russia expert astatine the Eurasia Group governmental hazard consultancy, since the Kremlin was “pretty utilized by present to Western disapproval of their attraction of Navalny.” He added that sanctions had truthful acold been “light” and inflicted small harm connected Moscow.
“I don’t deliberation it volition person large geopolitical implications,” Bush told The Washington Post. “The Russians volition astir apt conscionable motion this off.”
Nonetheless the prize whitethorn beryllium utilized by Russian media to service arsenic propaganda, helium added, and arsenic impervious that “Navalny is simply a lackey of the West.”
In a acme with Putin successful June, President Biden said he had raised Navalny’s lawsuit with the leader. Biden has besides antecedently warned Moscow that immoderate mediocre attraction of Navalny would “hurt relations with the remainder of the world, and me.”
Despite being barred from moving for president against Putin — and from seeking immoderate different bureau since 2013 erstwhile helium was runner-up successful the Moscow mayoral predetermination — Navalny inactive has managed to airs a governmental menace to Putin and the almighty oligarch web that dominates the economy.
The prize carries an grant of $58,000 and usually is presented astatine a ceremonial connected Dec. 15 successful Strasbourg.
Robyn Dixon successful Moscow contributed to this report.
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