Brussels: Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s main critic, has been awarded the European Union’s top human rights prize.
In open criticism of the Kremlin, the leaders of the European Parliament picked the Russian politician for the Sakharov Prize Wednesday. Other candidates had been a group of Afghan women and imprisoned Bolivian politician and former interim President Jeanine Anez.
Alexei Navalny is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most ardent political foe. He was arrested in January upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin an accusation rejected by Russian officials.