Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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183. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the decision of the Russian election commission to ban opposition candidates such as persons (details supplied) from standing in the 2024 Russian presidential election; his views on whether these bans are a contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights; the interaction he has had with his Russian counterpart or the Russian ambassador on this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13696/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Ireland remains extremely concerned at the ongoing erosion of human rights and democracy in Russia which has been exacerbated by Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.

The presidential elections held by Russia on 15-17 March 2024 took place in an ever-shrinking political space, which has resulted in an alarming increase of violations of civil and political rights, with many candidates precluded from running.

In the run up to the election, the Central Election Commission barred from the election the only two candidates campaigning on anti-war platforms: Boris Nadezhdin, who was barred because of alleged irregularities in the quality of the 100,000 signatures required in support of his candidacy, and Yekaterina Duntsova, who was disqualified for spelling mistakes in the enrolment documentation that she had submitted. It was not until after the election, in May 2024, that amendments to the law legalized the grounds for the disqualification. The shocking death in prison of opposition politician Alexei Navalny in the run-up to the elections was yet another sign of the accelerating and systematic repression in Russia.

Ireland, together with our EU partners, have expressed regret at Russia’s decision not to invite OSCE/ODIHR observers to its elections. This runs contrary to Russia’s OSCE commitments and denied Russia’s voters and institutions an impartial and independent assessment of these elections. The regime of Mr Putin deprived Russian voters of a real choice and heavily limited their access to accurate information. It is clear that the presidential elections were neither free nor fair and ultimately reflect a wider deterioration in human rights and democracy in Russia under Vladimir Putin.

The political situation in Russia has increasingly descended into authoritarianism in recent years, and has deteriorated further since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. There are ongoing examples of mass arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as harassment of peaceful anti-war activists, human rights defenders, journalists, cultural figures and ethnic minorities. Domestic opposition leaders have been arrested and prosecuted on politically motivated charges. Legislation has been introduced to essentially shut down civil society in Russia.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation has described a so-called legal carousel whereby victims are put through a series of arbitrary detentions until a fabricated criminal charge is raised against the victim. Confessions are frequently obtained through the use of torture or other coercive practices. There is no independent oversight, reporting, or investigation mechanisms, which perpetuates impunity for such serious crimes.

Ireland is deeply concerned at the shocking erosion of human rights in Russia, and the persecution of individuals for exercising their personal freedoms, including rights to freedom of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly. Ireland will continue to highlight these issues at the Human Rights Council, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and other relevant international fora.

Russia is currently subject to the most comprehensive and far-reaching sanctions ever imposed by the European Union. Economic sanctions target Russia’s financial, trade, energy, transport, technology and defence sectors, as well as services provided to Russia or Russian persons.

Ireland continues to support strong coordinated EU sanctions and other measures, including action at the UN, to hold Russia accountable for its violations of human rights and the rule of law, and its unprovoked, illegal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

I have not engaged with my Russian counterpart nor met the Russian Ambassador to Ireland since taking up the role of Minister for Foreign Affairs.