Russian diplomats ‘summoned’ by UK Foreign Office over Navalny’s loss of life

Russian diplomats have been ‘summoned’ by the UK Foreign Office over the alleged homicide of Putin opponent Alexei Navalny as world leaders have condemned the loss of life of the Putin critic.

The Foreign Office mentioned at this time it has ‘summoned the Russian Embassy to clarify that we maintain the Russian authorities totally accountable’ for the loss of life of Navalny, 47. 

Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron added that Russian President Vladimir Putin should ‘be held accountable for what has occurred’, as he warned that there needs to be ‘penalties’ for the Moscow chief.

Britain has joined different western nations in condemning the Kremlin after Russia‘s federal jail service mentioned in an announcement that Navalny had died after he reportedly fell in poor health on a stroll on the Arctic penal colony the place he was imprisoned.

‘Make no mistake, Putin is answerable for Navalny’s loss of life,’ US President Joe Biden mentioned in remarks from the White House. ‘Even in jail he was a robust voice for the reality.’

The president of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics mentioned he had been ‘brutally murdered by the Kremlin’ whereas French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne mentioned his loss of life ‘reminds us of the truth of Putin’s regime’.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, battling Russian forces for the previous two years, mentioned the Kremlin critic had been ‘killed by Putin’.

Navalny was one of the crucial distinguished and chronic critics of Putin even after he was jailed in 2021.

According to the Russian jail service, Navalny grew to become unwell after a stroll on Friday and misplaced consciousness. An ambulance arrived however he died regardless of makes an attempt to resuscitate him, it mentioned.

One of Navalny’s legal professionals, Leonid Solovyov, advised the impartial Novaya Gazeta paper that the Kremlin critic was ‘regular’ when a lawyer noticed him on Wednesday.

In footage of a courtroom listening to from his jail colony on Thursday, Navalny was seen smiling and joking as he addressed the choose by video hyperlink. State media reported he raised no well being complaints throughout the session.

A Foreign Office spokesperson mentioned Navalny’s loss of life should be ‘investigated totally and transparently’.

They mentioned: ‘Alexei Navalny devoted his life to exposing the corruption of the Russian system, calling free of charge and open politics, and holding the Kremlin to account.

‘We stand at this time along with his household, mates, colleagues and supporters. Our ideas exit to them. The Russian authorities noticed Mr Navalny as a menace. Many Russian residents felt he gave them a voice.

‘In current years, the authorities imprisoned him on fabricated expenses, poisoned him with a banned nerve agent, and despatched him to an Arctic penal colony. No-one ought to doubt the brutal nature of the Russian system.’

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak mentioned his loss of life was a ‘enormous tragedy’ for the Russian folks. 

US President Biden beforehand warned of Russia of penalties ought to Navalny die in jail and has now mentioned that he ‘is wanting into an entire variety of choices’ in response to his loss of life.

He spoke of Navalny’s bravery standing as much as ‘corruption’ and ‘violence’ of Putin’s authorities. 

‘In response, Putin had him poisoned, he had him arrested, he had him prosecuted for fabricated crimes, he sends him to jail, he is held in isolation, even all that did not cease him from calling out Putin’s lies,’ Biden mentioned. 

‘Even in jail he was a robust voice for the reality, which is sort of wonderful when you consider it.’ 

Biden identified that Navalny might have lived out his life safely in exile after the 2020 assassination try however determined to go residence to Russia ‘realizing he’d doubtless be imprisoned and even killed.’

‘Reports of his loss of life in the event that they’re true, and I’ve no cause to imagine they don’t seem to be, Russian authorities are going to inform their very own story,’ Biden mentioned. ‘Make no mistake, make no mistake, Putin is answerable for Navalny’s loss of life. Putin is accountable.’  

‘What has occurred to Navalny is but extra proof of Putin’s brutality,’ the US president mentioned. Vice President Kamala Harris added that Navalny’s loss of life was ‘an indication of Putin’s brutality’.

Other world leaders have joined in expressing their outrage over Navalny’s loss of life. 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mentioned Navalny’s loss of life was ‘tragic and horrifying’ and mentioned that ‘Canada stays dedicated to holding Putin answerable for his actions’.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte mentioned he was ‘shocked’ when he heard about Navalny’s loss of life and that it ‘illustrates the unprecedented brutality of the Russian regime’.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz mentioned Navalny had ‘paid for his braveness along with his life’, whereas Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, mentioned Navalny had been ‘slowly murdered by President Putin and his regime, who concern nothing greater than dissent from their very own folks’.

French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned in an announcement posted on X, previously often called Twitter, that in Russia ‘free spirits are despatched to the Gulag and condemned to loss of life’.

‘I pay tribute to the reminiscence of Alexei Navalny, his dedication, his braveness. My ideas exit to his household, family members and to the Russian folks,’ he added.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani mentioned on X that Navalny died ‘after years of persecution in jail’.

He added that Italy ‘will all the time be in conjunction with those that combat for democracy, for freedom of thought and for the inalienable rights of each human being’.

Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who has simply been added to Russia’s needed listing, mentioned in a publish on X that Navalny’s loss of life was ‘yet one more darkish reminder of the rogue regime we’re coping with – and why Russia and all these accountable should be held accountable for every of their crimes’.

UN chief Antonio Guterres referred to as for ‘a full, credible and clear investigation’ into Navalny’s loss of life.

‘Alexei Navalny was an amazing hero of the resistance in opposition to the Putin regime,’ mentioned Georgia’s jailed former president Mikheil Saakashvili. Saakashvili has been jailed in Georgia on expenses that rights group say have been politically motivated.

‘With Navalny now gone, am I the subsequent on Putin’s loss of life row?’ he requested.

Speaking on the Munich Security Conference hours after information of her husband’s loss of life, Yulia Navalnaya mentioned Putin and his entourage ‘will probably be punished for every part they’ve finished to our nation, to my household and to my husband’.

‘Alexei Navalny was tortured and tormented for 3 years… Murder was added to Alexei Navalny’s sentence,’ Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov was quoted as saying by the Novaya Gazeta newspaper.

Meanwhile protests have damaged out everywhere in the world over Navalny’s loss of life. 

Navalny, who led road protests for greater than a decade, grew to become a family title by means of his anti-corruption campaigning.

His exposes of official corruption, posted on his YouTube channel, racked up hundreds of thousands of views and introduced tens of 1000’s of Russians to the streets, regardless of harsh anti-protest legal guidelines.

He was jailed in early 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, the place he was recuperating from a near-fatal poisoning assault with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent.

In a string of circumstances he was sentenced to 19 years in jail on expenses extensively condemned by impartial rights teams and within the West as retribution for his opposition to the Kremlin.

His return to Russia regardless of realizing he would face jail introduced him admiration.

‘I’m not afraid and I name on you to not be afraid,’ he mentioned in an enchantment to supporters as he landed in Moscow, moments earlier than being detained on expenses linked to an previous fraud conviction.

His 2021 arrest spurred among the largest demonstrations Russia had seen in many years, and 1000’s have been detained at rallies nationwide calling for his launch.

From behind bars he was a staunch opponent of Moscow’s full-scale army offensive in opposition to Ukraine, and watched on, helplessly, because the Kremlin dismantled his organisation and locked up his allies.

Dozens of his prime supporters fled into exile and continued to marketing campaign in opposition to the offensive on Ukraine and rising repression inside Russia.

Late final yr, Navalny was moved to a distant Arctic jail colony in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets area in northern Siberia.

Navalny mentioned in January that his each day routine included jail walks in freezing temperatures, and that he had to make use of an open-air concrete yard measuring simply 11 by three steps extensive.

Since being jailed in 2021, he spent greater than 300 days in solitary confinement, the place jail authorities saved him over alleged minor infringements of jail guidelines.

The final publish on Navalny’s Telegram channel, which he managed by means of his legal professionals and staff in exile, was a tribute to his spouse posted on Valentine’s Day.

In a documentary filmed earlier than he returned to Russia, Navalny was requested what message he needed to go away to the Russian folks ought to he die or be killed.

‘Don’t hand over. You mustn’t, you possibly can’t hand over,’ he mentioned.

‘All it takes for evil to triumph is for good folks to do nothing. Therefore, do not do nothing.’