19
Apr
2023
Watch
Repression in Russia, in particular the cases of Vladimir Kara-Murza and Alexei Navalny
Madam President, I'm sorry. Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to a draconian sentence of 25 years for calling Putin a criminal responsible for the war in the middle of Europe. In his speech before Putin's court, he said: “I was sure after two decades in Russian politics, after everything I had seen and experienced, that nothing could surprise me anymore. I must admit that I was wrong.’ And he goes on to say that the contempt for legal norms during his trial exceeded the standards of the trials of Soviet dissidents of the 1960s and 1970s, and even the Stalinist purges of the 1930s. It is good that today in the European Parliament we are debating a resolution condemning Putin's Russia. But it is impossible not to notice that until recently, in this House and in many European countries, Putin was seen as a statesman, a democrat with whom one can do business and make the energy security of the European Union dependent on Russian hydrocarbons. When late President Lech Kaczynski warned Europe and the world in Tbilisi against a Russian tyrant, his voice in Europe was disavowed. Today, we see that Putin is not backing away from murdering his own citizens. And for many of you, Putin’s assassination of the Polish president – as we can see today – was unbelievable. 'Putin is a Democrat'. Putin is a criminal!