The Russian oppositionist Alexey Navalny, 47 years old, died in penal colony no. 3 of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. This was reported by the regional department of the Federal Penitentiary Service: “On February 16 of this year, in correctional colony No. 3, the inmate Navalny AA felt ill after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness. The institution’s medical workers they immediately arrived and an emergency medical team was called,” the statement read. “All the necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, but they did not give positive results. The emergency room doctors confirmed the death of the condemned man. The causes of death are being ascertained”, adds the statement re-launched by the Russian agencies.
Meanwhile, dozens of people have been staying for hours laying flowers at the “Wall of Sorrow” in Moscow, dedicated to the victims of political repression, in memory of the dissident. While rumors spread about a demonstration in the center of Moscow, the capital’s prosecutor’s office wasted no time and warned: “The demonstration was not coordinated with the authorities and the unauthorized marches, and participation in one of them, are crimes.” punishable by administrative arrest.” However, acts of condolence and support are also taking place in several other Russian locations, opposed by the police and services.
The causes of Aleksei Navalny’s death will be clarified by doctors, he said Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov. “I don’t know. The doctors have to understand it somehow,” the spokesman told journalists who asked him if he knew the reasons for the opponent’s death.
“I don’t want to hear any condolences. We saw him in prison on the 12th, in a meeting. He was alive, healthy and happy,” she wrote on social media la madre Lyudmila Navalnaya, While the wife Julia Borisovna spoke from the podium at the Munich security conference, saying, among other things, that the Russian president and other Russian officials must know that “they will be punished” for what they have done.
HIS FOUNDATION: VERY HIGH PROBABILITY HE WAS KILLED
The director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, Ivan Zhdanov, said in the evening: “Now the situation is such that we understand that, most likely, what happened is that Alexei Navalny was killed with a very high degree of probability. lie, that there is some hope that something will happen tomorrow, that all this is not true. Such a possibility is negligible. Now everything is moving towards the fact that a murder really happened: the murder of Alexei Navalny in prison. And it is It was Putin who killed him.”
THE LAST MESSAGE
“The prison decided to break the record to please Vladimir and the Moscow authorities: they just gave me 15 days in a punishment cell and it’s the fourth time in two months.” This is Alexei Navalny’s last message dated February 14 at 3pm.
UN DEMANDS INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION
The United Nations human rights office urged Russian authorities to ensure a credible investigation into the opposition leader’s death in prison. “If someone dies in state custody, the presumption is that the state is responsible – a responsibility that can only be rebutted through an impartial, thorough and transparent investigation conducted by an independent body,” said Liz Throssell, spokeswoman for the United Nations Office for Human Rights. “We urge the Russian authorities to ensure that a credible investigation is carried out.” The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a procedural investigation into the death, the Investigative Committee said.
The United States
“I am not surprised” but “I am outraged” by the news of Alexei Navalny’s death. Thus President Joe Biden, speaking at the White House. “Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” Biden said. Although there is no evidence at the moment of an assassination of the Russian opponent, he said in response to a question, his death was the “consequence of something Putin did”.
The vice president of the United States Kamala Harris, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, he called Navalny’s death “a further sign of Putin’s brutality”, stressing that “whatever story they tell, Russia is responsible”
”Russia is responsible for Navalny’s death”. The US Secretary of State declared it, Antony Blinkenstating that, ”if news of Navalny’s death were confirmed, it would demonstrate Russia’s weakness and the rot at the heart of its regime”.
NATO AND RUSSIA
What we have seen is that Russia has become an increasingly authoritarian power, which has used repression against the opposition for many years,” he said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Navalny, he added, “was in prison, a prisoner, and this makes it extremely important that Russia now answers all the questions that will be asked about the cause of death.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova aentrusts the reply to Telegram: “The immediate reaction of NATO leaders to Navalny’s death is in the form of direct accusations against Russia. There is no forensic examination yet, but the West’s conclusions are already ready”, says the spokeswoman. A subsequent note from the ministry reiterated that the United States and its allies must refrain from making “indiscriminate accusations” over Alexei Navalny’s death and wait for the autopsy. Peskov also spoke of “absolutely unacceptable” accusations.
ITALY
The Prime Minister
“The death of Alexei Navalny, during his detention, is another sad page that warns the international community. We express our heartfelt condolences and hope that this disturbing event will be fully clarified” he said Giorgia Meloni.
The Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani
“The Government will always stand by those who fight for democracy, for freedom of thought and for the inalienable rights of every human being. I am very struck by the death of Alexey Navalny after years of persecution in prison, we sympathize with his family and to the Russian people”.
The secretary of the Pd, Elly Schlien
“The death of Aleksei Navalny, Putin’s main opponent, is entirely the responsibility of the Russian government. A crime that cannot go unpunished. Imprisoned, poisoned, tortured: today a man dies, slowly killed by a ruthless regime that does not allow free voices” , Schlein said.
THE EUROPEAN UNION
“The EU holds the Russian regime solely responsible for this tragic death.” He writes it on X the President of the European Council Charles Michel, commenting on the death of Navalny, who “fought for the values of freedom and democracy. For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice”. “The fighters die. But the fight for freedom never ends,” says Michel.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola
“The world has lost a fighter whose courage will resonate through generations. Horrified by the death of Sakharov Prize winner Alexei Navalny. Russia took away his freedom and life, but not his dignity. His fight for democracy continues to live. Our thoughts are with his wife and children.”
The president of the EU commission, Ursula von der Leyen
“Deeply troubled and saddened by the news of the death of Alexei Navalny. Putin fears nothing more than dissent from his own people. A sad reminder of what Putin and his regime represent. Let us unite in our fight to safeguard the freedom and security of those who dare to oppose autocracy.”
“It is obvious that he was killed by Putin,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, visiting Germany. “Putin does not care who dies, but only maintains his position. That is why he should not keep anything. Putin must lose everything and be held responsible for his actions,” Zelensky added.
“He paid for his courage with his life,” the German chancellor said Olaf Scholz.
Aleksei Navalny was “brutally murdered by the Kremlin”. He stated it il presidente lettone, Edgars Rinkevicscommenting on the news of the death of the Russian opponent.
For the French foreign ministerStéphane Séjourné, Nalvalny paid with his life for his resistance to a system based on oppression.
Navalny “paid for his courage with his life”. So she commented German Chancellor Olaf Scholz the news of the death of the Russian opponent.
The UK
The death of Putin’s Russian opponent is “terrible news, a huge tragedy for Russians”, said the British prime minister Rishi Sunak. “As the main supporter of Russian democracy,” he added, “Navalny has demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life. My thoughts go to his wife and the citizens of Russia.” The Foreign Minister is very harsh David Cameron: “Putin’s Russia imprisoned him, made up charges against him, poisoned him, sent him to an Arctic penal colony and now he is tragically dead. And we should hold Putin to account for this.”