Responding to the news that the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation has decided on 3 March to recognise the activities of ALDE Party and the European Liberal Youth (LYMEC) as undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation, ALDE Party President Svenja Hahn and LYMEC President Ines Holzegger issued the following statement:
"We regard this designation as recognition of the loud and constant voice that ALDE Party and LYMEC has been in opposition to the war against Ukraine, and to the declining human rights and freedoms in Russia which we regard as undesirable.
"Let us first be very clear: ALDE Party and LYMEC are not anti-Russia; we are anti-Putin’s-Russia. We will always defend democracy and stand up against autocratic regimes. We are pro-democracy, we are pro-human rights and freedom of speech, and we have been and will continue to be firmly with the Ukrainian people, united and unwavering in our condemnation of the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine since 2022.
"We regret that Russian citizens are increasingly victims of a systematic effort to eliminate dissent and calls for peace, through repression, beatings, imprisonment, torture, and death.
"The arbitrary labelling individuals and legal entities “foreign agents” “extremists” or “terrorists”, as we are now witnessing first-hand today, represents an extra method of repression on politicians, journalists, LGBTI+ citizens, NGOs, and civil society.
"We will continue to call for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Russia, particularly those opposing the war in Ukraine and Putin’s authoritarian rule, and we reaffirm our commitment and desire for a truly democratic Russia and our support for those who fight for freedom and human rights.
"The designation of ALDE Party and LYMEC as undesirable organisations makes us only recommit to standing for our values and standing by those that share them."