During her mission to the Czech Republic carried out as part of her work on the humanitarian and human rights consequences of the war in Ukraine, the Commissioner also met with a large number of civil society actors, including Russian and Belarusian human rights defenders and journalists who had to leave their country to escape reprisals.
She took note of their concerns relating to personal safety and the ability to continue carrying out their work from abroad and discussed the important role that Council of Europe member states could play in ensuring an enabling environment for their legitimate activities.
The Commissioner expressed appreciation for their courageous work and stressed that the support to human rights defenders and journalists, including those from the Russian Federation and Belarus, will remain one of the priorities for her future action, in accordance with the Committee of Ministers’ Resolution on legal and financial consequences of the cessation of membership of the Russian Federation in the Council of Europe.