Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny attends a rally in support of political prisoners on Prospect Zakharova Street in Moscow, Russia, on September 29, 2019.
Sefa Karacan | Anatolia | Getty Images
World leaders and the wife of prominent Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny reacted with dismay and suspicion to reports of the Kremlin critic’s death in a Siberian penal colony.
Julia Navalnaya, Navalny’s wife, was greeted with a standing ovation during her speech at the Munich Security Conference on Friday.
Composed but with tears in her eyes, Navalnaya told the room that Russian claims that her husband collapsed and died had yet to be independently confirmed.
She said Russian President Vladimir Putin and his cronies in the Kremlin should be held accountable for crimes against her family and the country as a whole.
“If it’s true, I want Putin and all his associates … I want them to know that they will be punished for what they did to our country, to my family and to my husband,” she said.
“This regime and Vladimir Putin should be held personally responsible for all the atrocities they have committed in our country in recent years,” she said.
President Joe Biden said “Putin is responsible” for Navalny’s reported death. “Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death… What happened to Navalny is further evidence of Putin’s brutality,” Biden said.
Yulia Navalnaya, wife of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, attends the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on the day the prison authorities of the Yamal-Nenets region, where he served his sentence, announced Alexei’s death Navalny made the announcement in Munich, Germany, February 16, 2024.
Kai Pfaffenbach | Reuters
Reports of Navalny’s death – less than six months after the death of former Putin ally and Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin – caused a stir at the high-level defense conference and sparked reactions from political leaders around the world.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Western leaders’ reaction to Navalny’s reported death was “self-revealing” at a time when a forensic medical examination was not yet available.
World leaders are reacting
Russian media, citing prison authorities in the Yamal-Nenets region, where Navalny was serving a long sentence on charges widely seen as politically motivated, said he fell ill and collapsed after a walk.
Navalny’s team said it had not yet received confirmation of the death and questioned the veracity of the announcement.
US Vice President Kamala Harris told the Munich Security Conference on Friday that Washington was working to confirm the “terrible” news.
US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on February 18, 2023 in Munich.
Wolfgang Rattay | Reuters
“Whatever story they tell, let us be clear: Russia is responsible, and we will have more to say about that later,” she added.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he was “deeply saddened and concerned” by the reports of Navalny’s death.
“All the facts need to be clarified and Russia has serious questions to answer,” he told reporters.
“Alexei Navalny has been a strong voice for freedom, for democracy for many years, and NATO and NATO allies have long called for his immediate release.”
The Kremlin critic appeared in court via video link earlier this week, apparently in good health and spirits, despite the notoriously brutal conditions in the penal colony where the 47-year-old was being held on a 19-year sentence.
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny appears on a screen via video link from the IK-6 penal colony in the Vladimir region during a court hearing to consider an appeal against his verdict in the criminal case on numerous charges, including founding an extremist organization, goes, in Moscow, Russia, September 26, 2023.
Yulia Morozova Reuters
Still, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported Friday that he “felt unwell after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was “deeply disturbed and saddened” by the news of his death.
“Putin fears nothing more than the dissensions of his own people. A grim reminder of what Putin and his regime are all about. Let us unite in our fight to protect the freedom and security of those who dare to stand against the autocracy,” von der Leyen said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that if confirmed, Navalny’s death underscored the “weakness and rot” of the Russian political system built by Putin and placed the blame squarely on the Kremlin.
“We will speak to the many other countries that are concerned about Alexei Navalny, especially if these reports prove to be true.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a post on the social media platform
“My thoughts are with his wife and the Russian people, for whom this is a great tragedy,” he added.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was “deeply saddened” by the news and that Navalny’s death, if confirmed, would be a “terrible” sign of how Russia has changed as a country in recent years.
Navalny “stood up for democracy and freedom in Russia – and apparently paid for his courage with his life. This terrible news shows once again how Russia has changed and what kind of regime is in power in Moscow,” he said in a post on X.
French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said on social media that Navalny had “paid with his life for his resistance to a system of oppression,” according to a translation.
“His death in a penal colony reminds us of the reality of Vladimir Putin’s regime,” he added. “France expresses its condolences to his family, loved ones and the Russian people.”
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom called the announcement “terrible news,” adding: “The ruthlessness towards Navalny shows again why it is necessary to continue fighting against authoritarianism.”
Russia: NATO allegations “expose themselves”
Seven members of the Russian government were sanctioned by the United States in early 2021 over the independently confirmed poisoning of Navalny with the nerve agent Novichok in August 2020.
Navalny narrowly survived and was transported to Germany, but was arrested in Russia shortly after his return in January 2021, sparking international outrage.
In response, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said about
She added: “There is no forensic medical examination data, yet the West has already expressed its ‘conclusions’.”
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2024-02-16 21:00:59
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