European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to impose sanctions on top Russian officials following the imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a decision that was hastened by a tense trip to Moscow by the chief EU diplomat earlier this month, The Washington Post informs.
The asset freeze and travel ban were intended to send a message to the Kremlin after Navalny was sentenced to 2½ years in prison this month, EU diplomats said. Russian authorities accused Navalny of failing to report to parole officers last year after he was nearly killed in a nerve agent attack that he says was directed by Russian leaders. He had a suspended sentence from a 2014 embezzlement conviction that he deemed politically motivated.
