EU-Russia relations: rule of law must trump energy needs

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 25th Oct 2006

Sarah with Vanessa Redgrave at a recent memorial for Anna Politkovskaya

Liberal Democrat MEPs have welcomed a European Parliament resolution on EU-Russia relations, at the initiative of the Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) group, following the murder of campaigning Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya and the meeting of EU leaders with President Putin.

Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesperson, who met Anna Politkovskaya in 2005, said:

"The murder of this courageous woman, as the latest in a series of deaths of the Kremlin's political opponents, is testimony to the alarming erosion of the rule of law in Russia and the growth of a climate of impunity for human rights abuses. NGOs are also now subject to political pressure.

"Anna Politkovskaya was internationally renowned for her courageous work as a journalist and human rights defender. This was particularly important in highlighting grave abuses in Chechnya, the context in which I met her. Her death removes, some would say conveniently, a vocal and passionate critic of President Putin's policies.

"MEPs are rightly urging EU leaders to have the backbone to tell President Putin that there can be no new EU-Russia partnership agreement, whatever our interest in Russian energy supplies, unless respect for human rights, freedom of speech and the rule of law can be guaranteed."

Baroness Emma Nicholson of Winterbourne, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson and one of the co-authors of the resolution, commented:

"The investigation into Anna Politkovskaya's death will be scrutinised by the world. Freedom of expression in Russia, if there is such a thing, is now at a critical juncture.

"I strongly welcome the European Parliament's determination to highlight the tragic murder of Anna Politkovskaya. Her death has silenced a deeply courageous voice in Russian journalism.

"It is vitally important to remember that her murder is merely the most recent in a series of deaths of Russian journalists. The Russian government has a solemn obligation, under its own Council of Europe commitments, as well as under international human rights standards, to ensure that the media can operate free from intimidation."