Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny attends a rally in assist of political prisoners in Prospekt Sakharova Avenue in Moscow, Russia on September 29, 2019.
Sefa Karacan | Anadolu | Getty Photographs
World leaders and the spouse of outstanding Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny reacted with dismay and suspicion to reviews of the Kremlin critic’s loss of life in a Siberian penal colony.
Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny’s spouse, was greeted on Friday with a standing ovation as she addressed the Munich Safety Convention.
Composed however with tears in her eyes, Navalnaya advised the room that Russian claims that her husband had collapsed and died had been but to be independently confirmed.
She mentioned that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his cronies within the Kremlin needs to be held accountable for the crimes dedicated in opposition to her household and the nation at massive.
“If it’s the true, I would really like Putin and all his workers … I need them to know that they are going to be punished for what they’ve achieved with our nation, with my household, and with my husband,” she mentioned.
“This regime and Vladimir Putin needs to be held personally liable for all of the atrocities they’ve dedicated in our nation these previous years,” she mentioned.
President Joe Biden mentioned “Putin is accountable” for Navalny’s reported loss of life. “Make no mistake: Putin is liable for Navalny’s loss of life… What has occurred to Navalny is but extra proof of Putin’s brutality,” Biden mentioned.
Yulia Navalnaya, spouse of late Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny, attends the Munich Safety Convention (MSC), on the day it was introduced that Alexei Navalny is lifeless, by the jail service of the Yamalo-Nenets area the place he had been serving his sentence, in Munich, Germany February 16, 2024.
Kai Pfaffenbach | Reuters
Studies of Navalny’s loss of life — lower than six months after the demise of former Putin ally and Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin — despatched reverberations across the high-level protection convention, and prompted reactions from political leaders all over the world.
Russia’s International Ministry mentioned the response to Navalny’s reported loss of life from Western leaders is “self-exposing” at a time when no forensic medical examination is but accessible.
World leaders react
Russian media mentioned, citing the jail service of the Yamalo-Nenets area the place Navalny had been serving a prolonged sentence on what had been extensively thought of to be politically motivated fees, that he had fallen ailing and collapsed after a stroll.
Navalny’s staff mentioned that they had but to obtain affirmation of the loss of life and questioned the veracity of the announcement.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris advised the Munich Safety Convention on Friday that Washington was working to substantiate the “horrible” information.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, in the course of the Munich Safety Convention (MSC) in Munich, Germany February 18, 2023.
Wolfgang Rattay | Reuters
“No matter story they inform, allow us to be clear, Russia is accountable, and we can have extra to say on this later,” she added.
NATO Secretary Common Jens Stoltenberg mentioned he was “deeply saddened and anxious” concerning the reviews of Navalny’s demise.
“All of the information must be established and Russia has severe inquiries to reply,” he advised reporters.
“Alexei Navalny has been a powerful voice for freedom, for democracy, for a few years, and NATO and NATO allies have known as for his rapid launch for a very long time.”
The Kremlin critic appeared in court docket through video hyperlink earlier within the week, seemingly in good well being and spirits regardless of the notoriously brutal circumstances of the penal colony during which the 47-year-old was being held on a 19-year sentence.
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny seems on a display through video hyperlink from the IK-6 penal colony within the Vladimir area, throughout a court docket listening to to think about an enchantment in opposition to his sentence within the legal case on quite a few fees, together with the creation of an extremist group, in Moscow, Russia September 26, 2023.
Yulia Morozova | Reuters
But Russian information company Interfax reported on Friday that he “felt unwell after a stroll, virtually instantly dropping consciousness.”
European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen mentioned she was “deeply disturbed and saddened” by information of his loss of life.
“Putin fears nothing greater than dissent from his personal individuals. A grim reminder of what Putin and his regime are all about. Let’s unite in our battle to safeguard the liberty and security of those that dare to face up in opposition to autocracy,” von der Leyen mentioned.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned if confirmed, Navalny’s loss of life underscores the “weak point and decay” of the Russian political system constructed by Putin, and laid the blame squarely on the door of the Kremlin.
“We’ll be speaking to the various different nations involved about Alexei Navalny, particularly if these reviews bear out to be true.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak mentioned in a put up on social media platform X that “because the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated unimaginable braveness all through his life.”
“My ideas are along with his spouse and the individuals of Russia, for whom it is a enormous tragedy,” he added.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz mentioned he was “deeply saddened” by the information and that if confirmed, Navalny’s loss of life was a “horrible” signal of how Russia had modified as a rustic lately.
Navalny “stood up for democracy and freedom in Russia – and apparently paid for his braveness along with his life. This horrible information reveals as soon as once more how Russia has modified and what sort of regime is in energy in Moscow,” he mentioned in a put up on X.
French International Minister Stéphane Séjourné mentioned on social media that Navalny had “paid along with his life for his resistance to a system of oppression,” in keeping with a translation.
“His loss of life in a penal colony reminds us of the fact of Vladimir Putin’s regime,” he added. “To his household, his family members and the Russian individuals, France affords its condolences.”
Swedish International Minister Tobias Billstrom mentioned the announcement was “dreadful information,” including that “the ruthlessness in opposition to Navalny reveals once more why it’s essential to proceed to battle in opposition to authoritarianism.”
Russia: NATO accusations ‘self-exposing’
Seven members of the Russian authorities had been sanctioned by the U.S. in early 2021 for what has been independently confirmed because the poisoning of Navalny with a Novichok nerve agent in August 2020.
Navalny narrowly survived and was transported to Germany, however was arrested in January 2021 shortly after arriving again in Russia, sparking worldwide outcry.
In response, Russian International Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova mentioned through X that “the moment response of NATO leaders to the information of Alexey Navalny’s demise within the type of direct accusations vs Russia is self-exposing.”
She added, “No forensic medical examination knowledge IS accessible, but the West has already voiced its ‘conclusions’.”
