Foreign Policy Dail Éireann — 2026-02-05 ============================================================ Neale Richmond (FG), Dublin Rathdown Ireland remains deeply concerned at the ongoing erosion of human rights and democracy in Russia, which has been exacerbated by Russia’s illegal, full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we have seen a heightened number of arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as harassment and persecution, of peaceful anti-war activists, human rights defenders, journalists, cultural figures, members of the LGBTQI+ community and ethnic minorities. Domestic opposition leaders have been arrested and prosecuted. Legislation has been introduced to limit civil society activity in Russia. The Russian authorities are rapidly expanding the numbers of individuals designated as foreign agents, terrorists or extremists to inhibit further any remaining scope for open political discussion. Mariana Katzarova, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Russia has reported that there are over 2,000 political prisoners in Russia, many of whom face life-threatening conditions. Some, including Alexei Navalny, have died in detention. In her September 2025 report, the special rapporteur highlighted the prosecution of at least 912 people on politically motivated grounds between 2024 and mid-2025. At the Human Rights Council in September 2025, Ireland participated in an interactive dialogue with the special rapporteur, where we condemned the widespread use of torture, enforced disappearances, and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment and punishment as tools for systematic oppression by Russia. As an EU member, Ireland has supported the EU’s response to the accelerating and systematic repression in Russia, including the adoption of a specific sanctions regime relating to the human rights situation in Russia in 2024. This regime allows for restrictive measures to be imposed on those responsible for serious human rights violations or abuses, repression of civil society and democratic opposition, and undermining democracy and the rule of law in Russia. I commend the bravery of those Russian citizens who, despite great personal risks and under extremely difficult conditions, continue to work towards a free and democratic future for Russia, which respects human rights and the rule of law. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-05/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:36+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-02-05