The European Parliament has passed a resolution condemning the "politically motivated conviction" of Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza and the continued imprisonment of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny.
Members "strongly condemn this politically motivated conviction [of Kara-Murza and demand his immediate and unconditional release," the resolution approved on April 20 states.
"They make the same demand for Russian opposition activist and 2021 Sakharov Prize laureate Aleksei Navalny, who remains incarcerated..., as well as all other political prisoners in Russia.”
The parliament members "denounce the escalation of human rights violations by the Russian regime and condemn the ongoing crackdown on government critics, human rights defenders, and independent journalists in the country," it added.
"Due to this, Parliament calls on the UN Human Rights Council to conduct an immediate investigation into the acts of inhuman imprisonment, torture, and murder of political opponents in Russia."
After Kara-Murza’s initial arrest on a charge of spreading "false information" about Russia's armed forces, Russian authorities in August added the charge of involvement in an "undesirable" foreign organization, and in October they added the treason charge for Kara-Murza's public criticism of the Russian authorities in the international arena.
He was sentenced to 18 years for treason, seven years for spreading of false information, and three years for participating in the actions of an "undesirable" organization. Some of the sentences will run concurrently.
Kara-Murza is the latest in a string of opposition activists, reporters, and others who have been arrested and prosecuted under tightened legislation amid a growing Kremlin crackdown on civil society.
According to the human rights group OVD-Info, almost 20,000 Russians have been detained for anti-war protests since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.