Alexei Navalny poisoning – EU and UK impose further sanctions on Russia

On 15 October 2020, the European Council imposed restrictive measures against six individuals and one entity considered to be involved in the assassination attempt on Alexei Navalny, who was poisoned on 20 August 2020 in Russia.

The adopted restrictive measures consist of a travel ban to the EU and an asset freeze for individuals, and an asset freeze for the entity. In addition, EU persons and entities are forbidden from making funds available to those listed.

The European Council, in its conclusions of 1 and 2 October 2020, condemned the assassination attempt on Mr Navalny and use of chemical weapons, which constitutes a serious breach of international law. The European Council called upon Russia’s authorities to fully cooperate with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OCPW) to ensure an impartial international investigation and to bring those responsible to justice.

As relevant to the UK Overseas Territories including Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands, the UK government has issued a press release stating that the UK has imposed the same sanctions in a coordinated action with the EU.

The decision follows the political agreement reached by the Foreign Affairs Council on 12 October 2020 and can be found here.

European Council’s press release can be here.