The EU has imposed fresh sanctions on 28 Russian officials accused of spearheading the Kremlin’s deepening campaign of political repression and human rights abuse, in the latest sign of Brussels’ hardening stance against Vladimir Putin’s regime.
The new measures, agreed by the European Council on Monday, target a swathe of the Russian judiciary and prosecutorial elite — including senior judges, state prosecutors and investigators — many of whom played direct roles in the politically motivated prosecutions of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny and other prominent Kremlin critics.
In a statement announcing the decision, the EU said the blacklisted individuals were “responsible for serious violations of human rights, the repression of democratic opposition, and activities seriously undermining the rule of law in Russia.”
Among the sanctioned are figures from Russia’s Supreme Court, regional courts and the powerful Investigative Committee, which has operated under the de facto control of the Kremlin. Brussels accuses the Committee of “fabricating cases” to crush dissent and intimidate opponents of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The announcement marks the latest in a series of coordinated EU efforts to ratchet up pressure on Moscow, with sanctions now covering more than 1,900 individuals and entities since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. But this latest round, unusually, focuses not on military or economic figures, but on the judicial machinery accused of giving a thin legal veneer to Putin’s internal clampdown.
Officials sanctioned today include prosecutors who represented the state in the cases against Navalny — Russia’s most prominent opposition figure until his death in an Arctic penal colony in February. EU officials say these prosecutors “played a role in the persecution” of Navalny by pursuing convictions in sham trials, upholding harsh sentences and coordinating prosecutions against his associates.
The listings also target those who upheld the conviction of Navalny’s brother, Oleg, in a case widely viewed as an act of collective punishment, as well as those behind the trials of Navalny’s lawyers and the technical director of “Navalny LIVE”, the YouTube channel used to broadcast anti-Kremlin investigations and messages to millions of Russians.
Brussels also named individuals involved in convicting other peaceful dissenters, including Alexei Gorinov, a Moscow city councillor jailed for criticising the war; Igor Baryshnikov and Olga Smirnova, both convicted for anti-war statements; and bloggers such as Ioann Kurmoyarov and Sergey Drugov, who were sentenced for publishing information about the Russian military’s actions in Ukraine.
“These trials were characterised by arbitrary and unfair proceedings and used as a tool to intimidate other dissenting Russian citizens,” the EU’s statement said, citing systematic procedural violations and a pattern of using Russia’s legal system to stifle freedom of expression.
Those now under EU sanctions will face asset freezes, with European citizens and businesses barred from making any funds or economic resources available to them. They are also subject to a travel ban, effectively barring them from entering or transiting through EU territory.
The move comes amid mounting concern in Brussels and across Western capitals about the deterioration of civil liberties in Russia. Human rights organisations have documented a sharp rise in politically motivated prosecutions since the invasion of Ukraine, with hundreds of individuals detained for opposing the war, criticising the Kremlin, or even sharing posts on social media.
“The EU remains unwavering in its condemnation of human rights violations and repressions in Russia,” the Council said, adding that it was “deeply concerned about the continuing deterioration of the human rights situation in the country, especially in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Navalny’s death, officially blamed by Russian authorities on “sudden death syndrome,” has only intensified Western scrutiny of Russia’s judicial system. Many in Brussels view his treatment as a symbol of the complete subjugation of the judiciary to the will of the Kremlin — and a warning of how far the regime is prepared to go to silence dissent.
Today’s sanctions come as EU foreign ministers prepare for a wider debate later this month on the bloc’s long-term strategy toward Russia. While some member states favour more punitive measures, others argue for more support to Russian civil society actors in exile and media initiatives aimed at breaking through the Kremlin’s narrative within Russia.
What remains clear, however, is that Brussels has no intention of easing the pressure. As one senior EU diplomat put it: “We are not just sanctioning generals and oligarchs. We are now going after the entire architecture of repression.”
