Human rights situation in Russia is worsening, Pussy Riot member tells MEPs

From: EU-Neighbourhood Info Centre – The human rights situation in Russia is worsening, a member of the feminist punk-rock group Pussy Riot told a Human Rights Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday. Subcommittee chair Barbara Lochbihler (Germany) cited “the new restrictive laws impeding the work of NGOs and human rights defenders, an increase in political prisoners and politically-motivated charges, as well as increasing harassment of LGBTI activists in Russia” as particularly worrying. She urged the EU to keep human rights at the core of EU-Russia relations, stressing that human rights violations need to be more clearly communicated when engaging with Russia.