MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the listing of German NGOs as 'undesirable organisations' by Russia and the detention of Andrei Pivovarov

B9‑0348/2021

European Parliament resolution on the listing of German NGOs as 'undesirable organisations' by Russia and the detention of Andrei Pivovarov

(2021/2749(RSP))

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Russia;

- having regard to the Statements by the EEAS Spokesperson on the detention of Andrei Pivovarov of 1 June 2021 and on the listing of German NGOs as “undesirable organisations” of 27 May 2021;

- having regard to Rule 144 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas on 31 May 2021, Andrei Pivovarov, a former Executive Director of “Open Russia”, was forced to disembark from a Polish airline LOT plane in Saint Petersburg and arbitrarily detained for cooperating with an “undesirable organisation”; whereas the police searched his Saint Petersburg apartment overnight while the national law requires searches to be conducted between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., allowing for night searches only under extraordinary circumstances;

B. Whereas on 1 June 2021, Mr Pivovarov was transferred to Krasnodar and later placed in pre-trial detention, initially for two months under charges of “carrying out activities of an undesirable organization”, whereas the Krasnodar Investigative Committee initiated criminal proceedings against him on 29 May 2021; whereas in its 1 June 2021 press statement, the Investigative Committee stated that Pivovarov had published materials in support of an “undesirable organisation” in August 2020, alleging that this post constituted public dissemination of information in support of an undesirable organization and that he was detained during an attempt to flee abroad from the investigation; whereas in August 2020, Andrei Pivovarov had posted information about candidates in the then upcoming municipal elections; whereas Mr Pivovarov faces up to six years imprisonment if convicted;

C. Whereas on 27 May 2021, “Open Russia” announced it was shutting down to protect its members from prosecution following the recent adoption of two laws that would ban Russian nationals from involvement with  “undesirable organisations” even outside Russia and make instituting such criminal cases considerably easier, putting many activists at risk;

D. whereas on 1 June 2021, Dmitry Gudkov, a former MP and prominent Kremlin critic, was detained and faces up to five years imprisonment over alleged unpaid rent from 2015; whereas the police conducted searches at his country house outside Moscow as well as the homes of his allies and relatives; whereas Mr Gudkov now has been released;

E. whereas on 26 May 2021, Russian Prosecutor General decided to list three German non-governmental organisations, Forum Russischsprachiger Europaer e.V., Zentrum fur die Liberale Moderne GmbH, and Deutsch-Russischer Austausch e.V, as “undesirable organisations”; whereas two of the NGOs participate in the St. Petersburg Dialogue, a German-Russian forum that brings together civil society along with think tank experts and policy makers from both countries to strengthen inter-cultural dialogue and human rights;

F. whereas the situation of human rights and the rule of law continue to deteriorate in Russia, with systematic efforts by the authorities to silence free speech, limit the freedom of assembly, the activities of the civil society, the opposition and critical voices as well as independent media;

G. Whereas many Moscow subway workers who had registered their intent to attend the “Freedom for Navalny” rally or had taken part in the demonstrations on 21 April 2021  have been asked by their authorities to resign by mutual agreement or have been fired for alleged absenteeism or illness.

1. Calls on the Russian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Andrei Pivovarov and drop all charges against him and others prosecuted under the ‘undesirable organizations’ law; Reiterates its position on the case of Aleksey Navalny and calls for his immediate release from prison;

2. Calls on the Russian authorities to reverse the decision taken by the Russian Prosecutor General on 26 May 2021 to list the three above-mentioned German non-governmental organisations as “undesirable organisations”;

3. Urges the Russian authorities to repeal the legislation on “undesirable organisations” adopted in May 2015 and repeal the recently adopted legislation which introduces new restrictions on independent civil society, the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and access to online information, and to bring it in line with Russia’s commitments under European and international human rights law;  

4. Calls on the Russian authorities to put an end to the harassment, intimidation, violence and repression of independent and dissident voices ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections of 19 September 2021; calls on the Russian authorities to guarantee all political parties equal access and equal chances during the elections;

5. Calls on Russia to contribute to the promotion of people-to-people contacts to the benefit of both Russian Federation a and the European Union;

6. Recalls that the European Parliament stands by the Russian people in their struggle for fundamental freedoms and human rights, democracy and stabilization of the European continent, respect of all international borders and coexistence and peaceful cooperation between the European Union and the Russian Federation;

7. Condemns these new forms of underground repression aiming to sanction, in the capital as elsewhere, the participation of employees, hospital doctors, teachers and social service workers in demonstrations or their support to opponents of the current regime.

8. Reiterates its call to the European institutions and Member States to continue to closely monitor the human rights situation in the Russian Federation and to continue monitoring court cases of civil society organisations, journalists, opposition politicians and activists; calls for the European institutions and the Member States  to increase their support to Russian dissidents, non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations, and independent media;

9. Calls on the EU Member States to continue to show solidarity and unity of action, to coordinate their positions on Russia to limit the negative impact of recently adopted restrictive laws in Russia, and to consider the idea of sharing of the burden of the economic sanctions on the Russian regime in a spirit of fairness among the Member States, to reconsider the continuation of strategic projects such as Nord Stream 2 and to enlarge the current EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (EU Magnitsky Act) to deal with corruption;

10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Council of Europe, the President, Government and the State Duma of the Russian Federation.