European Union foreign ministers have agreed to work on further restrictive measures against figures in Russia responsible for the arrest, sentencing and persecution of Alexei Navalny, it emerged from a statement after a meeting on February 22. The move to further sanctions is a response to serious violations of human rights in Russia, a statement after the meeting said. “In response to the events around the situation of Mr.Navalny we reached a political agreement to impose restrictive measures against those responsible for his arrest, sentencing and persecution,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. “For the first time ever we will make use of the EU Global Human Rights Regime to this end,” Borrell said, referring to the bloc’s equivalent to the Magnitsky Act.