In remarks marking the second anniversary of the poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Saturday said the date ought to lead people to consider the attack's implications.
"We should think about that now," the German leader said in a video message, noting that Moscow's war against Ukraine also has consequences for Russia.
"Freedom and democracy were already endangered. But now freedom of expression is even more threatened and many are afraid to speak their minds [in Russia]," Scholz added.
This is precisely why it is so important to think about Navalny these days, Scholz emphasized.
Scholz called the Russian dissident "a courageous man" and said he stands for the principles "that show good prospects for many citizens of Russia."
Navalny narrowly survived an attempt to poison him with the chemical agent Novichok in August 2020, for which he blames Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In Brussels, the European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell said "the EU continues to condemn in the strongest possible terms the attempt to assassinate Mr Navalny through poisoning using a military chemical nerve agent of the 'Novichok' group."
"We call on the Russian Federation to abide by their commitments under the Chemical Weapons Conventions to investigate it in full transparency and without further delay,and to fully cooperate with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)," he added.
The 46-year-old Navalny is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence in a penal colony for alleged fraud.
The dissident is viewed as a political prisoner, with his jailing criticized as retribution for his ongoing criticism of the Russian authorities.
