Aanval op Galina Kozlova en onderdrukking van Mari minderheid in Rusland veroordeeld (en)

In a parliamentary resolution, MEPs roundly condemned the recent attack on Mari activist Galina Kozlova and called on the Russian authorities to "bring the perpetrators of these acts to justice and ensure respect for freedom of expression." The House emphasised the importance of minority languages and cultures in the Russian federation, and called on the Commission to raise the issue during the regular EU-Russia human rights dialogue.

On 25 January of this year, Galina Kozlova, a member of the board of the Mari national organisation Mari Usem, and wife of Vladimir Kozlov, chair of the Mari council, was attacked and suffered severe head injuries. The attack follows a series of attacks on Mari activists and journalists in the Mari El republic, and no convictions or arrests have been made. The Mari are a Finno-Ugric minority in Russia, concentrated in the Mari El republic. They are pushing for full cultural and linguistic rights, such as access to secondary and higher education in their language.

The Parliament's resolution calls for a "speedy, comprehensive and independent inquiry by federal, and local judicial authorities into the attacks." It also calls on the Government of Mari El "to halt political retribution and intimidation" and to "refrain from undue political interference in the affairs of educational and cultural institutions." MEPs insisted that Russian authorities enable "quality education in a person's native language at all levels," and called on the Commission to raise the issue of Finno-Ugric minorities during the regular EU-Russia human rights dialogue.