3 yıl önce

Amnesty restores Navalny's 'prisoner of conscience' status and apologises

Amnesty International said it made a mistake and apologised"for the negative impacts this has had on Alexey Navalny personally" and the activists in Russia and around the world who tirelessly campaigned for his freedom.

Reuters

A worker paints over a graffiti depicting jailed Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny in Saint Petersburg, Russia April 28, 2021. The graffiti reads: "The hero of the new age".

Amnesty International has apologised to jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny for stripping him of its "prisoner of conscience" status and said it would restore the designation.

Amnesty announced on February 24 that it would stop referring to Navalny as a prisoner of conscience on the grounds that in the past he had made comments that qualified as advocacy of hatred.

"Following careful evaluation Amnesty International has decided to re-designate Alexei Navalny as a 'Prisoner of Conscience,'" it said in a statement on Friday

'Amnesty International made a wrong decision'

Amnesty said the Russian government and its supporters had used the February 24 decision to further violate the rights of Navalny, a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin.

The 44-year-old Russian opposition politician was arrested in January and sentenced to jail for parole violations he called “trumped up.”

"Amnesty International made a wrong decision ... and apologises for the negative impacts this has had on Alexey Navalny personally, and the activists in Russia and around the world who tirelessly campaign for his freedom," it said.

Leonid Volkov, Navalny's chief of staff, said on Twitter that "the ability to recognise mistakes and move on is the most important thing that distinguishes normal people from Putin."

The Russian government was closed for a national holiday.

Navalny's are acts of conscience, and should be recognised as such. https://t.co/2hgxHwibpa

Умение признавать ошибки и двигаться вперед — важнейшая вещь, которая очень отличает нормальных людей от путиных.
— Leonid Volkov (@leonidvolkov) May 7, 2021

Navalny's anti-migrant approach

Navalny has been criticised for past nationalist statements against illegal immigration and for attending an annual nationalist march several years ago.

Amnesty said it had reviewed its process for naming people as prisoners of conscience and would no longer remove the designation solely based on their past conduct.

"Some of Navalny's previous statements are reprehensible and we do not condone them in the slightest ... by confirming Navalny's status as [a] prisoner of conscience, we are not endorsing his political programme, but are highlighting the urgent need for his rights," it said.

SOURCE: Reuters