Eurovision star launches legal challenge against EU sanctions

Pop star and former Eurovision runner-up Polina Gagarina has asked the EU’s top court to remove her from a list of Russian citizens sanctioned over the Ukraine conflict.

Brussels has blacklisted many Russian celebrities for supporting the Russian army or in any way publicly associating themselves with Moscow’s policies regarding Ukraine. 

Gagarina was sanctioned in June this year, after the EU accused her of supporting actions that “undermine the territorial integrity of Ukraine” by participating in Russian “state propaganda events.”

The restrictions, including a ban on entering EU countries, were slapped on the 37-year-old singer three months after she performed at a concert in Moscow celebrating the 10th anniversary of Crimea’s reunification with Russia. The UN still recognizes the mostly Russian-speaking peninsula as part of Ukraine. 

Gagarina filed a complaint at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in September. According to the legal document, which was registered on October 14, she argues that the Council of the European Union failed to “discharge the burden of proof,” and violated the principles of proportionality and freedom of expression. 

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Gagarina participated in the Eurovision song contest in 2015, finishing second with her entry ‘A Million Voices.’ She was also a judge on several seasons of the Russian version of the music TV show ‘The Voice.’  

The artist previously expressed disappointment that due to sanctions her songs had been removed from the streaming services Apple Music and Spotify.

“I believe that music, just like any other form art, has been created to heal and inspire. And people who love me should be able to continue to listen to it and be able to easily find it. No one has the right to ban music, which is why I will have my say,” Gagarina told the Voice Magazine in July. 

Moscow has repeatedly condemned reprisals against artists, insisting that attempts to “cancel” Russian culture abroad will ultimately fail.