BASSETERRE, St. Kitts -- Following the death of Russia’s Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny, which has left the world in shock but not surprised, the European Union said it is "outraged by the death of the Russian opposition politician," which it blames on Vladimir Putin and the Russian authorities.
On Friday (Feb. 16), prison officials at IK-3 penal colony north of the Arctic Circle announced the death of the opposition leader with an official cause of death yet to be determined.
In its statement today (Feb. 19), the Foreign Affairs Council expressed “deepest condolences” to Navalny's wife Yulia Navalnaya, their children, family, friends, and all those who worked with him for the benefit of their country.
“Russia must allow an independent and transparent international investigation into circumstances of his sudden death. The EU will spare no efforts to hold Russia’s political leadership and authorities to account, in close coordination with our partners; and impose further costs for their actions, including through sanctions."
“Around the world, people have gathered to pay tribute to the memory of Alexei Navalny. In Russia, the authorities tried to prevent the same in a number of places and several hundred people have been detained. They must be immediately released,” the statement read.
Navalny has been described as a thorn in the side of Putin, who has largely been criticized for his iron grip on the country. The opposition leader has been the leader of the “resistance” in Moscow despite numerous attempts on his life over the years. “He bravely stood up to the corruption, the violence, and all the bad things that the Putin government was doing,” US President Joe Biden said.
The US President had strong words for the Russian leader whom he called out in his speech. “What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled — not in Russia, not at home, not anywhere in the world. Putin does not only target citizens of other countries, as we’ve seen what’s going on in Ukraine right now, he also inflicts terrible crimes on his own people.”
Navalny returned to Russia after an assassination attempt with the nerve agent “Novichok” banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention, to which the Russian Federation is a State Party. He was serving several politically motivated sentences in a strict penal colony in Siberia where he was moved to isolate him from the rest of the world.
“The European Union has repeatedly condemned in the strongest possible terms his poisoning and all politically motivated rulings against him for his legitimate political and anti-corruption activities, the EU noted.
The European Union reiterated its calls for Russia to “immediately and unconditionally” release all other political prisoners, including Yuri Dmitriev, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Ilya Yashin, Alexei Gorinov, Lilia Chanysheva, Ksenia Fadeeva, Alexandra Skochilenko, and Ivan Safronov.
