Canada slapped new sanctions on nine senior Russian officials on Wednesday to protest “gross and systematic” human rights violations.
"Effective from March 24, 2021, Canada is imposing sanctions against Russian officials in response to gross and systematic human rights violations that have been committed in Russia," Global Affairs Canada said in a statement on the Canadian government's website.
“The Russian government has repeatedly shown its unwillingness to respect the basic rights of its own people and address concerns raised on multiple occasions by the international community,” Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said in a statement.
The Russian sanctions are a result of Navalny who was poisoned last August and recovered in Germany. The finger of blame pointed straight toward his fierce vocal opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Navalny returned to Russia in January and was subsequently arrested, tried by a court and given the two-year sentence.
The US imposed sanctions on seven senior Russian officials earlier this month, joining the EU and UK who took the action earlier. Canada has now followed suit.
“The sanctions are part of a concerted diplomatic effort to bring pressure on senior figures in Russia’s administration involved in the attempted murder of Alexei Navalny, his subsequent prosecution and the silencing of Russian citizens who protested his treatment with heavy-handed and often violent methods,” reads the statement.
The individuals designated on the sanctions list include director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, director of the Federal Penitentiary Serviced Alexander Kalashnikov, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov, first deputy head of the Russian Presidential Executive Office Sergei Kiriyenko, deputy defense ministers Alexei Krivoruchko and Pavel Popov, chief of the Presidential Domestic Policy Directorate Andrei Yarin, presidential envoy to the Siberian Federal District Sergei Menyailo, and Russian Guard Director Viktor Zolotov.
Earlier, on March 23, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree placing sanctions on a number of Russian officials and legal entities.
