Leaders say Putin's critics “paid for their courage with their lives” and hold Russia responsible for Putin's death.
Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny collapsed, lost consciousness and died in a remote penal colony north of the Arctic Circle, where he was serving a long sentence, federal prison authorities said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that President Vladimir Putin had been briefed on the death of Navalny, who had been a fierce critic of the Russian president.
Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said his lawyer was on his way to the IK-3 penal colony in Harup, in the Yamalo-Nenets region.
Leonid Volkov, a close aide to Navalny, said Russian authorities had released a confession in prison to “murder” Navalny.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel that Western countries had already reached “conclusions” without forensic evidence.
She said that “the immediate reaction in the form of direct condemnation of Russia is self-revealing.”
ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Navalny was “clearly murdered by President Putin.”
Speaking from Berlin, which has a security pact with Germany, he added that Putin doesn't care who dies as long as he remains at the top.
european union
European Council President Charles Michel said Russian dissidents had “fighted for the values of freedom and democracy” and made the ultimate sacrifice.
“The EU holds the Russian regime responsible for this tragic death.”
Czech Republic
Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky wrote in X that Russia treats its own citizens the same way it treats its own foreign policy.
“It has become a violent state that kills people who dream of a better future, like Mr. Nemtsov and now Mr. Navalny, who are imprisoned and tortured to death for defying President Putin.” He said this while referring to Boris Nemtsov, a critic of President Putin.
France
“Alexei Navalny paid with his life for resisting the repressive regime,” French Foreign Minister Stephane Séjourne said on the X program.
“Mr. Navalny's death in the penal colony is a reminder of the reality of Vladimir Putin's regime,” Sejourne said, expressing his condolences to Mr. Navalny's family and the Russian people.
Germany
Prime Minister Olaf Scholz said Navalny had risked his life for his courage.
Scholz recalled discussing with Navalny the “great courage” that led him to return to Russia after recovering from a poison attack in Berlin.
“He now paid for this courage with his life,” Scholz said.
latvia
“Whatever you think about Alexei Navalny as a politician, he was simply brutally murdered by the Kremlin,” Latvian President Edgars Rinkevich said in a post on X.
No matter what you think about Alexei @Navalny As a politician, he was only brutally murdered by the Kremlin. That's true, and what you need to know about the nature of Russia's current regime. My condolences to your family and friends.
— Edgars Linkevics (@edgarsrinkevics) February 16, 2024
NATO
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he was “deeply saddened and shaken” by the news of Navalny's death.
“We need to reveal all the facts and Russia needs to answer all serious questions about the circumstances of his death.”
Norway
“The Russian government bears a heavy responsibility,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Wald Eide wrote in X, adding that he was saddened by the news of Navalny's death in prison.
Sweden
Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Bilström said that if the “terrifying news” about Mr. Navalny is true, it “signifies another terrible crime by the Putin regime.”
“The ruthlessness towards Mr. Navalny shows once again why we need to continue fighting authoritarianism.”
England
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “This is terrible news. As Russia's most ardent defender of democracy, Alexei Navalny has shown incredible courage throughout his life.
“My thoughts are with his wife and the Russian people. This is a great tragedy for them.”
Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov
Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov told Reuters that Navalny's death amounted to “murder.”
The editor-in-chief of Russia's most famous independent newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, said he believed prison conditions led to his death.