UK sanctions the bosses of Russian jail the place Alexei Navalny was killed
The UK has sanctioned the chiefs of the Russian jail the place Alexei Navalny was detained and killed.
Foreign Secretary David Cameron introduced these accountable for the Arctic penal colony the place the opposition determine was held will probably be banned from the UK and see their property frozen beneath new sanctions. The Foreign Office mentioned the UK is the primary nation to impose sanctions in response to the loss of life of Mr Navalny, who it described as “a political prisoner who dedicated his life to exposing the corruption of the Russian system, calling for free and open politics”.
Rishi Sunak paid tribute to Mr Navalny and despatched his “deepest condolences” to his household at Prime Minister’s Questions. Russian jail officers mentioned that Mr Navalny died final week after feeling in poor health throughout a brief stroll at IK-3, a notoriously brutal jail within the Russian Arctic.
His group believes he was murdered on the orders of Vladimir Putin. Critics of the Russian President have claimed that officers from the FSB visited the jail advanced to disconnect CCTV cameras within the days earlier than the loss of life.
Vadim Konstantinovich Kalinin, who allegedly oversaw the brutal jail camp the place Mr Navalny was saved in solitary confinement for as much as two weeks at a time, is amongst these sanctioned, in line with a press release from the Foreign Office on Wednesday. Five others have additionally been focused for “activity that violates the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the right to life”, the Government mentioned.
They are Lieutenant Colonel Sergey Nikolaevich Korzhov, Lieutenant Colonel Vasily Alexandrovich Vydrin, Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Ivanovich Pilipchik, Lieutenant Colonel Aleksandr Vladimirovich Golyakov and Colonel Aleksandr Valerievich Obraztsov.
Lord Cameron mentioned: “It’s clear that the Russian authorities saw Navalny as a threat and they tried repeatedly to silence him. FSB operatives poisoned him with Novichok in 2020, they imprisoned him for peaceful political activities, and they sent him to an Arctic penal colony. No-one should doubt the oppressive nature of the Russian system.
“That’s why we’re at the moment sanctioning probably the most senior jail officers answerable for his custody within the penal colony the place he spent his remaining months. Those answerable for Navalny’s brutal therapy ought to be beneath no phantasm – we’ll maintain them accountable.”
At PMQs, Mr Sunak informed the Commons: “The entire House will be part of me in sending our deepest condolences to the household of Alexei Navalny. He died for a trigger to which he devoted his entire life, freedom.
“And to return home knowing that (Vladimir) Putin had already tried to have him killed was one of the most courageous acts of our time. Together with our allies we are considering all options to hold Russia and Putin to account and this morning we sanctioned those running the prison where Alexei Navalny’s body still lies.”
Labour this weekend referred to as for Putin to face trial on the Hague for crimes towards humanity. Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy informed the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg programme: “I’d like to see Putin in front of [a] special tribunal, held to account for all of his crimes, not just in Ukraine, however as we’re seeing simply within the final 48 hours in Russia as nicely.” Mr Lammy mentioned he would help additional sanctions towards Russia and pledged that Labour would “plug the gaps” of existing measures if elected.
Over 400 people were detained in Russia while paying tribute to Mr Navalny at the weekend, according to campaigners. In August 2020, he was poisoned at the end of a trip to Siberia with a Novichok nerve agent. He was flown to Germany for specialist treatment, but on his return to Moscow he was immediately taken into custody. The International Criminal Court last year issued an arrest warrant for Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
