DISINFO: New EU sanctions based on zero evidence of Russia's role in Navalny poisoning
SUMMARY
Washington and Brussels have come to an agreement on sanctions against Russia. The two announced the imposition of the new anti-Russian sanctions almost simultaneously.
The EU’s rhetoric is increasingly belligerent, but there is still no evidence. UNHRC official Agnes Callamard has admitted that the exact formula of the compound used in the alleged poisoning of Alexei Navalny is unknown. In other words, Europe simply took the US intelligence community on its word. The latter announced it was “highly likely” that Moscow had been involved in the Navalny case.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the poisoning of Alexei Navalny and sanctions.
The European Union has introduced restrictive measures against six individuals and one entity involved in the assassination attempt on Alexei Navalny. The sanctions took place in the framework of the restrictive measures against the proliferation and use of chemical weapons.
The EU has also imposed restrictive measures against four Russian individuals responsible for serious human rights violations in Russia, including arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as widespread and systematic repression of freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and freedom of opinion and expression.
Alexander Bastrykin, Head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Igor Krasnov, the Prosecutor-General, Viktor Zolotov, Head of the National Guard, and Alexander Kalashnikov, Head of the Federal Prison Service have been listed over their roles in the arbitrary arrest, prosecution and sentencing of Alexei Navalny, as well as the repression of peaceful protests in connection with his unlawful treatment.
See related pro-Kremlin disinformation claims, alleging that new EU sanctions on Russia are a "circus" and a "fake story"; that Europe made up a strange story about Navalny poisoning as a pretext for sanctions; and that the EU lost more from sanctions than Russia.