Alexey Navalny became a laureate of Sakharov Award

The European Parliament awarded the founder of the FBK Alexei Navalny Prize Sakharov. This was reported by the European People's Party, which nominated it.

“Mr. Putin, free Alexei Navalny. Europe calls for the release of him and other political prisoners, ”the European People's Party said.

The presentation of the award was also commented by the chairman of the European Parliament David Sassoli. “Navalny tirelessly fights corruption of the regime of Vladimir Putin. It cost him freedom and almost his life. Today's prize testifies to his enormous courage, and we repeat our call to his immediate liberation. ”

“It is absolutely clear that when a person is imprisoned on a political prosecution, an unfair sentence, then support is especially important to him both in the country and abroad. Of course, the award of this award is a gesture of solidarity and support, evidence that the world remembers him and closely monitors his fate. I really hope that the award of this award will be such an additional measure of protection and moral support. In principle, the support of such fighters for democracy and freedom in the tradition of the prize to them. Sakharov. The first laureate of this prize was Nelson Mandela, a man who was in prison before getting freedom and heading his country, the South African Republic, on the way to a new just political regime, ”the director of the Sakharov Center Sergey Lukashevsky told The Insider.

According to the deputy of the European Parliament, Sergei Lagodinsky, “the award of such an important bonus is a signal that the case of Navalny is not some kind of marginal political issue.” “His figure has now become the embodiment of global hopes for changes in the Russian Federation. He personifies, firstly, the struggle against corruption, and not only in Russia, this hurts the fate of the world and fate of Europe, and secondly, a person who is uncompromising fighting anti-democratic, totalitarian and authoritarian actions and trends and is ready to go into conclusion. It was these two components - anti -corruption and prodemocratic - that played a large role. Awarding the bonus, if someone has not yet believed it or does not believe it, it is also an additional certification, the seal of the fact that Navalny is a man already European, if not global, category, ”Lagodinsky said in a conversation with The Insider.

The prize "For Freedom of Thought" is awarded to people who have contributed to the struggle for human rights. It was established in 1988. In 2020, the Belorussian opposition was awarded the award.

Now Alexei Navalny is serving a sentence in a colony in the Vladimir region in the case of Yves Rocher. The court appointed him 3.5 years in prison. Given the term of house arrest, he must leave for two years and eight months in the colony.

On September 30, it became known on September 30 that new criminal cases were instituted against Alexei Navalny and his associates under articles on the creation and leadership of an extremist community, as well as participation in it. SK claims that Navalny did this in order to “change the foundations of the constitutional system” and undermine “public safety and state integrity of the Russian Federation”.

According to investigators, no later than 2014, Navalny, being the founder of the Corruption Fund, created an "extremist community and led it." At the same time, "Volkov and Zhdanov joined the criminal activity of Navalny." Participation in the “Extremist community” is charged with Lyubov Sobol, George Alburov, Ruslan Shavedinov, Pavel Zelensky and “other persons”.