US and UK ambassadors pay respects for ‘murdered’ Alexei Navalny
- Prison authorities declare Alexei Navalny, 47, suffered ‘sudden demise syndrome’
- But Navalny’s allies and lots of world leaders have blamed his demise on Putin
The British and American ambassadors to Moscow have laid flowers for jailed Russian opposition chief who was discovered useless in jail.
Alexei Navalny, 47, fell unconscious and died on Friday after a stroll on the distant Arctic penal colony the place he was serving a three-decade sentence, the jail service stated.
His sudden demise was a crushing blow to many Russians, who had pinned their hopes for the longer term on President Vladimir Putin‘s fiercest foe.
Mourners have left tons of of flowers on the Solovetsky Stone monument in Moscow, pictures have revealed, with US ambassador Lynne Tracy and Britain’s Nigel Casey amongst these seen paying their respects.
More than 400 folks have been detained in Russia whereas paying tribute to Navalny, who had remained vocal in his unrelenting criticism of the Kremlin even after surviving a nerve agent poisoning and receiving a number of jail phrases.
There are nonetheless few particulars of why he died, however jail authorities have stated he suffered ‘sudden demise syndrome’. However, Navalny’s allies and many world leaders have blamed his demise on Putin and his authorities.
Hundreds of individuals in dozens of Russian cities have streamed to ad-hoc memorials and monuments to victims of political repressions with flowers and candles to pay tribute to Alexei Navalny. A mourner is pictured laying flowers on Saturday on the Solovetsky Stone in Moscow
A person lays flowers to pay the final respect to Alexei Navalny on the monument, a big boulder from the Solovetsky islands, the place the primary camp of the Gulag political jail system was established, close to the historic the Federal Security Service constructing in Moscow on Sunday
Flowers and an image are left as a tribute to Russian politician Alexi Navalny close to the Russian Embassy in London on Sunday
A lady lays flowers mourning Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny’s demise close to the memorial to political prisoners in Moscow, Russia on Saturday
Hundreds of individuals in dozens of Russian cities have streamed to ad-hoc memorials and monuments to victims of political repressions with flowers and candles to pay tribute to Navalny.
The US Embassy in Moscow shared a photograph on X of Ambassador Tracy visiting the memorial and issued a press release studying: ‘Today on the Solovetsky Stone we mourn the demise of Alexei Navalny and different victims of political repression in Russia.
‘We prolong our deepest condolences to Alexei Navalny’s household, colleagues and supporters. His energy is an inspiring instance. We honor his reminiscence.’
Britain’s embassy shared a photograph of Casey visiting the memorial on Saturday and known as for a ‘full and clear investigation into Navalny’s demise.’
The Foreign Office issued a press release saying: ‘Alexei Navalny devoted his life to exposing the corruption of the Russian system.
‘The UK has summoned the Russian Embassy to clarify we maintain the authorities chargeable for his demise. There should be a reputable and clear investigation.’
In greater than a dozen cities, police had detained 401 folks by Saturday evening, in line with the OVD-Info rights group that tracks political arrests and gives authorized help.
More than 200 arrests have been made in St Petersburg, Russia’s second largest metropolis, the group stated.
The US Embassy in Moscow issued a press release studying: ‘Today on the Solovetsky Stone we mourn the demise of Alexei Navalny and different victims of political repression in Russia. ‘We prolong our deepest condolences to Alexei Navalny’s household, colleagues and supporters. His energy is an inspiring instance. We honor his reminiscence’
US ambassador Lynne Tracy lays flowers on Sunday to pay the final respect to Alexei Navalny on the monument, a big boulder from the Solovetsky islands, the place the primary camp of the Gulag political jail system was established
Britain’s embassy shared a photograph of Ambassador Nigel Casey visiting the memorial on Saturday and known as for a ‘full and clear investigation into Navalny’s demise’
The Foreign Office stated it summoned a consultant of the Russian Embassy to ‘make it clear that we maintain the authorities chargeable for his demise’
Prison authorities have stated Navalny suffered ‘sudden demise syndrome’. However, his allies and lots of world leaders have blamed his demise on Putin and his authorities. Pictured: Alexei Navalny is seen through the trial of his detention in March 2017
A photograph of Alexei Navalny lies amongst flowers close to the Wall of Grief monument in Moscow, Russia on Saturday
More than 400 folks have been detained in Russia whereas paying tribute to Navalny. Officers are pictured detaining a person close to the Wall of Grief monument on Saturday
Among these detained there was Grigory Mikhnov-Voitenko, a priest of the Apostolic Orthodox Church – a non secular group impartial of the Russian Orthodox Church – who introduced plans on social media to carry a memorial service for Navalny and was arrested on Saturday morning exterior his house.
He was charged with organizing a rally and positioned in a police holding cell, however was later taken to hospital after struggling a stroke, OVD-Info reported.
Courts in St Petersburg have ordered 42 of these detained on Friday to serve from one to 6 days in jail, whereas 9 others have been fined, courtroom officers stated.
In Moscow, at the least six folks have been ordered to serve 15 days in jail, in line with OVD-Info. One particular person was additionally jailed within the southern metropolis of Krasnodar and two extra within the metropolis of Bryansk, the group stated.
The information of Navalny’s demise reverberated throughout the globe, with many accusing Putin of getting him murdered.
In an trade with reporters shortly after a church service on Saturday, US President Joe Biden reiterated his stance that Putin is in the end guilty for Navalny’s demise.
Biden stated: ‘The reality of the matter is, Putin is accountable. Whether he ordered it, he is chargeable for the circumstance. It’s a mirrored image of who he’s. It can’t be tolerated.’
Police officers detain a lady with a placard studying “Murderers” throughout a gathering in reminiscence of Alexei Navalny close to the Wall of Grief monument on Saturday
A lady holds a placard studying “Putin is the killer of Navalny” throughout a gathering in reminiscence of Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny close to the Wall of Grief monument on Saturday
Police officers detain a person throughout a gathering in reminiscence of Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny close to the Wall of Grief monument on Saturday
A lady sits by the Wall of Grief monument to the victims of political repressions, the place folks collect to honor the reminiscence of Alexei Navalny in Moscow on Saturday
Police officers detain a lady throughout a gathering in reminiscence of Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny close to the Wall of Grief monument on Saturday
Thousands of individuals throughout Russia on Saturday laid flowers at memorials of Stalin’s political repressions in reminiscence of Navalny. Pictured is a person laying flowers close to the Wall of Grief monument in Moscow
A lady prays after laying flowers to pay the final respect to Alexei Navalny on the Solovetsky Stone monument in Moscow on Sunday
People lay flowers on the Wall of Grief monument in Moscow on Saturday
Meanwhile, Navalny’s spouse, Yulia Navalnaya, printed an image of the couple on Instagram on Sunday in her first social media submit since his demise.
The caption learn merely: ‘I really like you.’
Questions about the reason for demise lingered on Sunday, and it remained unclear when the authorities would launch his physique to his household.
Navalny’s workforce stated on Saturday that the politician was ‘murdered’ and accused the authorities of intentionally stalling the discharge of the physique, together with his mom and attorneys getting contradicting info from numerous establishments the place they went of their quest to retrieve the physique.
‘They’re driving us round in circles and protecting their tracks,’ Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh stated on Saturday.
Navalny’s closest ally and strategist Leonid Volkov added: ‘Everything there may be coated with cameras within the colony. Every step he took was filmed from all angles all these years. Each worker has a video recorder. In two days, there was not a single video leaked or printed. There is not any room for uncertainty right here.’
A notice handed to Navalny’s mom stated he died at 2.17pm native time on Friday, in line with Yarmysh.
Prison officers advised his mom when she arrived on the colony on Saturday that her son had perished from ‘sudden demise syndrome’, Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, wrote on X.
Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service reported Navalny felt sick after a stroll on Friday and have become unconscious on the colony, which is within the city of Kharp, within the Yamalo-Nenets area about 1,200 miles north-east of Moscow.
An ambulance arrived however he couldn’t be revived, the service stated, including his reason behind demise continues to be ‘being established’.
A lady who simply put flowers in reminiscence of Alexei Navalny, cries close to the Wall of Grief monument in Moscow, Russia on Saturday
A mourner cries close to the Solovetsky stone at Lubyanka sq. on Saturday as she pays her respects to Alexei Navalny
A photograph of Alexei Navalny lies amongst flowers close to the Wall of Grief monument on Saturday
A lady put flowers in reminiscence of Alexei Navalny on the Solovetsky stone at Lubyanka sq. on Saturday
A lady lays flowers to pay the final respect to Alexei Navalny on the monument, a big boulder from the Solovetsky islands, on Sunday
Navalny had been jailed since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin. He has acquired three jail phrases since his arrest, on numerous fees he has rejected as politically motivated.
After the final verdict that handed him a 19-year time period, Navalny stated he understood he was ‘serving a life sentence, which is measured by the size of my life or the size of lifetime of this regime’.
Hours after Navalny’s demise was reported, his spouse made a dramatic look on the Munich Security Conference.
Navalnaya stated she was not sure on the time if she may consider the information from official Russian sources, ‘but when that is true, I would like Putin and everybody round Putin, Putin’s buddies, his authorities to know that they’ll bear accountability for what they did to our nation, to my household and to my husband’.
