Russias Putin bears ultimate responsibility for Navalnys death: EU

Published February 16,2025

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The EU on Sunday mentioned that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin bore “ultimate responsibility” for the demise of Alexei Navalny, because it paid tribute to the late opposition figurehead on the one-year anniversary of his passing.

The European Union’s international coverage chief, Kaja Kallas, mentioned Navalny “gave his life for a free and democratic Russia” and referred to as for the discharge of all political prisoners within the nation.

“Today marks one year since the death of Russian opposition leader politician Alexei Navalny, for which President Putin and the Russian authorities bear ultimate responsibility,” Kallas mentioned in a press release.

The charismatic Navalny — Putin’s fundamental opponent who campaigned towards authorities corruption — died a yr in the past whereas incarcerated in a distant Arctic penal colony.

Russian authorities have by no means totally defined his demise, which they mentioned occurred whereas he was strolling within the jail yard.

“As Russia intensifies its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, it also continues its internal repression, targeting those who stand for democracy,” Kallas mentioned.

Navalny’s attorneys stay “unjustly imprisoned, together with hundreds of political prisoners”, she added.

“Russia must immediately and unconditionally release Alexei Navalny’s lawyers and all political prisoners,” Kallas mentioned.

Navalny — Putin’s fundamental opponent — was declared an “extremist” by Russian authorities, a ruling that is still in power regardless of his demise, which got here lower than a month earlier than a presidential election that prolonged Putin’s greater than two-decade rule.

In Russia, anyone who mentions Navalny or his Anti-Corruption Foundation with out stating that they’ve been declared “extremist” is topic to fines, or as much as 4 years in jail for repeated offences.

Until his demise, the 47-year-old continued to name for Russians to oppose the Kremlin and denounced Moscow’s Ukraine offensive, even from behind bars.