Madam Chair, The human rights situation in Russia continues to deteriorate and this is of deep concern. I would like to highlight today four cases and areas. Firstly, it is disgraceful that Alexey Navalny, himself the victim of a despicable crime, has been sentenced on arbitrary charges. We have expressed our concern previously here in this forum and also at the Council of Europe, and the UN Human Rights Council, and continue to call for his immediate and unconditional release. Secondly, we also reiterate our previous calls for the release of Mr Yuri Dmitriev. We believe Mr Dmitriev’s case is a politically-motivated prosecution, triggered by his work as a historian and representative of the human rights organisation Memorial. Given Mr Dmitriev’s age, health, and the COVID-19 pandemic, there are also strong humanitarian reasons for his release.