The EU has imposed sanctions on eight Russian individuals over alleged serious human rights violations, repression of civil society and democratic opposition, and actions that undermine democracy and the rule of law in Russia.
The new listings include members of Russia’s judiciary — two judges, a prosecutor and an investigator — linked to politically motivated trials that resulted in the sentencing of Russian activists Dmitry Skurikhin and Oleg Belousov on what the EU described as politically motivated charges, the European Council announced on Monday.
The sanctions also target the heads of penal colonies and a pre-trial detention centre where political prisoners Aleksei Gorinov, Pavel Kushnir, Mikhail Kriger and journalist Maria Ponomarenko were held.
Those prisoners were kept in solitary confinement and in inhuman and degrading conditions.
Those listed are subject to an asset freeze, meaning any assets held in the EU must be frozen, and EU citizens and companies are barred from making funds available to them.
They also face a travel ban preventing them from entering or transiting through EU territory.
A sanctions framework set up in 2024
The measures were adopted under a sanctions framework created in March 2024 to target people responsible for serious human rights violations or abuses, repression of civil society and democratic opposition, and undermining democracy and the rule of law in Russia, the Council said.
That framework was established following the death of Alexei Navalny, according to the EEAS. It also includes trade restrictions on exporting equipment to Russia that could be used for internal repression or for monitoring or intercepting telecommunications.
The legal acts have been published in the Official Journal of the EU.
