Human rights ombudsperson slams EU countries’ plans to ban entry to Russians

A move to close European Union countries' borders to Russian nationals would be a blatant violation of freedom of movement, Russian Human Rights Ombudsperson Tatyana Moskalkova pointed out.

"Calls for barring Russian nationals from entering EU member states have been coming from the West. Such manifestations of nationalism and discrimination blatantly violate the basic principle of freedom of movement, enshrined in universal and regional international legal acts," she wrote on Telegram, Qazet.az reports.

Moskalkova noted, however, that the EU was divided on the issue. "The voice of reason from a European Parliament member that we heard today gives hope that international law and human rights aren’t just empty words for the EU authorities," she added.