President Joe Biden said Friday he's 'outraged' but 'not surprised' by the reported death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and says Russian President Vladimir Putin is 'responsible' for his death.
Navalny died after falling ill on a walk yesterday, Russian prison service claimedOutraged world leaders last night united in condemnation over the 'murder' of staunch Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, and insisted Vladimir Putin must now pay.
Navalny's death sparked scenes of mayhem as thousands of protesters swarmed Russian embassies worldwide to express their fury, with angry crowds massing in London, Paris, Berlin and Helsinki and Italy. Navalny, Putin's leading domestic critic in Russia, had courageously challenged the tyrant's rule and his savage war in Ukraine - which is entering its third year. Many of his supporters expressed fears he would be assassinated while behind bars.
While David Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, added: 'Putin's Russia fabricated charges against him, poisoned him, sent him to an arctic penal colony and now he has tragically died. He spoke of Navalny's bravery standing up to 'corruption' and 'violence' of Putin's government. 'In response, Putin had him poisoned, he had him arrested, he had him prosecuted for fabricated crimes, he sends him to prison, he's held in isolation, even all that didn't stop him from calling out Putin's lies,' Biden said.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak paid tribute to the 'fiercest advocate for Russian democracy', saying Navalny was a prominent and persistent critic of Putin who had 'demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life'. 'Putin doesn't care who dies - only for him to hold his position. This is why he must hold onto nothing. Putin must lose everything and be held responsible for his deeds,' he added.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said Navalny had been 'slowly murdered by President Putin and his regime, who fear nothing more than dissent from their own people'. Vladimir Putin, pictured in Russia on Friday, reportedly demanded updates about Navalny in prison, where guards have been accused of trying to 'destroy health by all forces and means'
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on X that Navalny died 'after years of persecution in prison'. He added that Italy 'will always be at the side of those who fight for democracy, for freedom of thought and for the inalienable rights of every human being'. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the fact that Navalny was a prisoner 'makes it extremely important that Russia now answer all the questions that it will be asked about the cause of death.'
Navalny's final message: The Kremlin critic posted Valentine's message to his wife, Yulia, on Wednesday . 'Baby, everything is like in a song with you: between us there are cities, the take-off lights of airfields, blue snowstorms and thousands of kilometers,' it read. 'But I feel that you are near every second, and I love you more and more'
Hundreds gathered in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, which has also seen a huge influx of Russians since the invasion of Ukraine. Crowds of protesters also rallied in Berlin and Paris, as well as the capitals of Latvia, Bulgaria and Estonia, plus other European cities. People take part in a protest opposite the Russian Embassy in London, organised by Voice for Global Democracy, yesterday
Supporters of the late Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny hold banners and place candles around a makeshift memorial in front of the Russian consulate as they mourn his death on February 16, 2024 in Krakow, Poland 'We stand today with his family, friends, colleagues and supporters. Our thoughts go out to them. The Russian authorities saw Mr Navalny as a threat. Many Russian citizens felt he gave them a voice.
One of Navalny's lawyers, Leonid Solovyov, told the independent Novaya Gazeta paper that the Kremlin critic was 'normal' when a lawyer saw him on Wednesday. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference hours after news of her husband's death, Yulia Navalnaya said Putin and his entourage 'will be punished for everything they have done to our country, to my family and to my husband'.
Protesters chanting slogans critical of Putin gathered outside the embassy in Kensington Palace Gardens next to Hyde Park last nightIn Berlin, 500 to 600 people gathered in front of the Russian embassy chanting 'Putin is a killer' in a mixture of Russian, German and English 'If this is true, then no matter the formal cause, the responsibility for the premature death is Vladimir Putin personally, who first gave the green light to the poisoning of Alexei and then put him in prison,' said Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled Russia tycoon turned opposition figure in exile, in an online statement.'If it is confirmed, the death of Alexei is a murder. Organized by Putin,' opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov said on social media.
Navalny, who led street protests for more than a decade, became a household name through his anti-corruption campaigning. Policemen detain Navalny during a rally in support of investigative journalist Ivan Golunov, who was detained by police, in Moscow, Russia June 12, 2019 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, his wife Yulia, daughter Daria and son Zakhar pose for a picture outside a polling station during the Moscow city parliament election in Moscow, Russia September 8, 2019
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