EU takes a stand: Sanctions imposed on Russian officials for human rights violations

The European Union announced on Thursday that it has imposed sanctions on 12 individuals in Russia, including the prison director where opposition figure Alexei Navalny is being held, in addition to five entities, for their responsibility in "serious human rights violations."

The European Union Council stated in a statement that the mentioned sanctions "target those who have arbitrarily used facial recognition technologies to carry out mass arbitrary arrests in Russia, as well as politically motivated decisions against figures in the opposition, activists for democracy, and fierce Kremlin critics."