The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has said Vladimir Putin “should be accountable” for Alexei Navalny’s death – saying the Russia state under Putin “fabricated charges […] poisoned him, sent him to an Arctic penal colony”
The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, earlier said (12.19 GMT) Navalny had demonstrated “incredible courage”.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has meanwhile said that reports of Alexei Navalny’s death “underscore the weakness and rot at the heart” of Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
First and foremost, if these reports are accurate, our hearts go out to his wife and his family. Beyond that, his death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this.
We’ll be talking to the many other countries concerned about Alexei Navalny, especially if these reports bear out to be true.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Kamala Harris, the US vice-president, said:
We’ve all just received reports that Alexei Navalny has died in Russia. This is of course terrible news, which we are working to confirm. My prayers are with his family, including his wife, Yulia, who is with us today. And if confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putin’s brutality. Whatever story they tell, let us be clear: Russia is responsible and we will have more to say about this later.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said the death of Alexei Navalny reminds the world what a “monster” Vladimir Putin is.
He told CBC Radio:
He was such a strong fighter for democracy, for freedoms for the Russian people.
It really shows the extent to which Putin… will crack down on anyone who is fighting for freedom for the Russian people.
It is a tragedy and it’s something that has the entire world being reminded of exactly what a monster Putin is.
The UN human rights office urged the Russian authorities to ensure that a credible investigation into the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in prison was carried out.
Spokesperson Liz Throssell said:
If someone dies in the custody of the state, the presumption is that the state is responsible – a responsibility that can only be rebutted through an impartial, thorough and transparent investigation carried out by an independent body.
We urge the Russian authorities to ensure such a credible investigation is carried out.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a procedural probe into the death, the Investigative Committee said.
Throssell said:
We call on the Russian authorities to end the persecution of politicians, human rights defenders and journalists, among others.
All those who are held or have been sentenced to various prison terms in relation to the legitimate exercise of their rights, including the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression, should be immediately released and all charges against them.
Scores of attacks, including assassinations, abductions and assaults, were perpetrated by 25 governments last year against people outside their borders, new analysis reveals.
Data from the Washington DC-based pro-democracy organisation Freedom House reveals that the governments of Russia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Turkmenistan and China were the biggest five perpetrators of transnational repression in 2023.
Michael Abramowitz, the president of Freedom House, said: “The phenomenon of authoritarians striking down dissidents who have sought refuge abroad is not going away. Democracies will have to do more, and soon, to protect their sovereignty and their fundamental values.”
The first known cases of transitional repression sanctioned by the governments of Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, Myanmar, Sierra Leone and Yemen also took place last year.
Forty-four countries – more than a fifth of the world’s national governments – have reached beyond their borders over the past decade in an attempt to forcibly silence exiled political activists, journalists, former regime insiders and members of ethnic or religious minorities.
The analysis reveals that, in total, 125 physical attacks – which also included detentions and unlawful deportation – were ordered by states against individuals based abroad during 2023.
The Russian government was responsible for at least 18 documented incidents of transnational repression last year. The Kremlin targeted anti-war activists and other Russian defectors in Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan among others, with victims facing renditions or deportation.
Read more here:
There has been some reactions from US politicians although we still haven’t heard from Joe Biden.
House foreign affairs committee chairman Michael McCaul issued the following statement regarding reports on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
He said:
If confirmed, the death of Alexei Navalny is a tragedy. He was a voice for a better Russia amid the corruption and brutality of Putin’s genocidal regime.
The Kremlin must be held to account for this outrage.
Senator Ben Cardin, chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, issued a statement from the Munich Security Conference.
He said Navalny’s death is “not just a tragedy for the Russia people, but a profound loss felt across the international community”.
He said he was “a beacon of hope for millions” inspiring those who “bravely fight for freedom in the face of tyranny”.
He said:
While the loss of Navalny is a stunning blow for the world, his legacy will undoubtedly endure as a symbol of resilience, courage, and hope.
The need for the international community to stand in solidarity with those who fight for democracy and human rights could not be more urgent.
As we mourn this loss, we cannot shrink from our collective responsibility to hold accountable those who seek to silence dissent through violence and repression.
In Alexei Navalny’s memory, let us today recommit ourselves to the pursuit of a world where freedom, justice, and human dignity prevail.
Senator Thom Tillis, who is one of the 22 Republicans who voted to approve aid to Ukraine, has also released a statement and has not minced words about Republicans who kowtow to the Kremlin.
He said:
Navalny laid down his life fighting for the freedom of the country he loved.
Putin is a murderous, paranoid dictator. History will not be kind to those in America who make apologies for Putin and praise Russian autocracy.
Nor will history be kind to America’s leaders who stay silent because they fear backlash from online pundits.
Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei Navalny’s wife, took the stage at the Munich Security Conference. Here’s a longer transcript of what she said.
She said:
I thought, ‘should I stand here before you or should I go back to my children’? And then I thought, ‘what would have Alexei done in my place’? And I’m sure that he would have been standing here on this stage.
I’m don’t know should believe the terrible news we get, the news we get only from the official media, because for many years – and you know all this – we have been in this situation, we cannot believe Putin and his government, they are lying constantly.
She added:
But if it is the truth, I would like Putin and all his staff – everybody around him, his government, his friends – I want them to know that they will be punished for what they have done with our country, with my family and with my husband.
They will be brought to justice, and this day will come soon.
And would like to call upon all the international community, all the people in the world, we should come together and we should fight against this evil.
We should fight this horrific regime in Russia today. This regime and Vladimir Putin should be personally held responsible for all the atrocities they have committed in our country the last year.
Navalnaya then got a standing ovation from the audience of leaders and senior officials.
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Friday that the United States should show restraint before accusing Russia of Alexei Navalny’s death, TASS reported.
The ministry said the US should wait for the results of the forensic medical examination.
In his final appearance before his death, Alexei Navalny looked healthy during a video-link court appearance.
Speaking from prison, he complained about the frequent fines he had to pay and asked the judge to send him some money ‘as my own is running out thanks to your decisions’.
Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk has posted a simple but strong message on X.
He said that Alexei Navalny would never be forgotten, adding: “And we will never forgive them.”
Enrique Mora Benavente, a Spanish diplomat who serves as the chief of staff of Josep Borrell, has offered his condolences to Alexei Navalny’s family.
He told reporters in Brussels:
He was a brave human being. He gave hope to all democrats around the world. He was slowly killed by Vladimir Putin.
Alexei Navalny’s wife, Yulia, has just spoken at the Munich Security Conference.
She movingly spoke about the decision she has to take about whether to stay in Munich and speak on stage or go back immediately to her children. She decided to do what her husband would have done and speak at the conference.
She said she didn’t know if we should believe the terrible news but said Vladimir Putin is “personally liable for all the horrible things they are doing to my country”.
She said that the news had only come from Russian government sources, adding: “for many years we cannot trust Putin and the Putin government. They always lie.”
But she said:
If this is true, I want Putin and everyone around him to know that they will be held accountable for everything they did to our country, to my family.
And this day will happen very soon.
She called on the international community to come together and punish “this horrific regime” in Russia.
Canadian foreign minister Mélanie Joly has described reports of Alexei Navalny’s death as a “painful reminder of Putin’s continued oppressive regime”.
The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has said Vladimir Putin “should be accountable” for Alexei Navalny’s death – saying the Russia state under Putin “fabricated charges […] poisoned him, sent him to an Arctic penal colony”
The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, earlier said (12.19 GMT) Navalny had demonstrated “incredible courage”.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has meanwhile said that reports of Alexei Navalny’s death “underscore the weakness and rot at the heart” of Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
First and foremost, if these reports are accurate, our hearts go out to his wife and his family. Beyond that, his death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built. Russia is responsible for this.
We’ll be talking to the many other countries concerned about Alexei Navalny, especially if these reports bear out to be true.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Kamala Harris, the US vice-president, said:
We’ve all just received reports that Alexei Navalny has died in Russia. This is of course terrible news, which we are working to confirm. My prayers are with his family, including his wife, Yulia, who is with us today. And if confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putin’s brutality. Whatever story they tell, let us be clear: Russia is responsible and we will have more to say about this later.
Alexei Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, has said her son was “alive, healthy and happy” when she last saw him on Monday.
In a post on Facebook reported by Novaya Gazeta, the independent Russian newspaper published in Latvia since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she wrote:
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.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has posted to social media that Alexei Navalny paid for his bravery with his life.
Ukraine’s military said that its withdrawal from the southeastern part of the embattled town of Avdiivka would give no strategic advantage to Russian troops.
The decision to move Ukrainian defenders was motivated by a desire to minimise losses and will allow for an improved “operational situation” in the town, Oleksandr Tarnavsky, the commander of Ukraine’s southeastern sector, said on the Telegram messenging app.
Alexei Navalny seemed to be in good spirits during a court hearing just yesterday, where he was filmed laughing and joking.
The Putin critic made a remote appearance from Kharp at a court in Kovrov.
Russian medics spent more than half an hour trying to resuscitate jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny before he died on Friday, Interfax reported, citing the local hospital, Reuters reports.
The United States is actively seeking confirmation of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s reported death, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told National Public Radio on Friday.
Sullivan said in an interview:
If it’s confirmed, it is a terrible tragedy.
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