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US president Joe Biden has blamed Vladimir Putin for the death in prison of the Russian leader’s fiercest critic, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, at the age of 47.
Paying tribute to the political activist’s bravery, Mr Biden said: “We don’t know exactly what happened to Navalny, but no doubt his death was the consequence of Putin and his thugs.”
Mr Navalny’s widow warned the Russian president her husband’s death would not go unpunished.
Yulia Navalnaya said: “To Putin and all those who work for him, his entire entourage, his friends, I want them to know that they will not go unpunished.
“They will be punished for what they have done to our country, for what they have done to my family, for what they have done to my husband. They will be held responsible and this day will come.”
Prison chiefs said medical staff were unable to resuscitate Mr Navalny, who last month was moved to an Arctic jail, after he lost consciousness. It said the reason of death was being established.
UK security minister Tom Tugendhat accused the Kremlin of having murdered Mr Navalny to silence him.
Navalny's mother travelling to Russian prison where he died - Novaya Gazeta
Lyudmila Navalnaya, the mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, is travelling to the prison colony where he died, accompanied by Navalny's lawyer, Russia's Novaya Gazeta newspaper has reported.
Mr Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's most formidable domestic opponent, fell unconscious and died on Friday after a walk at the "Polar Wolf" Arctic penal colony where he was serving a three-decade sentence, authorities said.
Kaja Kallas: The killing of Navalny shows the dictator’s handbook in real life
Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas has said that the killing of Alexei Navalny shows “the dictator’s handbook in real life”.
“This is the way Putin operates,” she told the Munich Security Conference. “This is the dictator’s handbook in real life. So we should be aware of this.
“And like president Zelenskiy said, let’s not discuss how to do something, we have to do everything to stop him. Because history rhymes.
“We have seen this already in the 1930s, the same thing, I mean American isolationism on the one side, this not stopping the aggressor when we have the chance to stop him, and then seeing aggression spread all over the world.
“Let’s do the right thing, let’s learn something from history.”
Zelensky accuses Putin of being a ‘thug’ after Navalny death
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has referenced the death of Alexei Navalny during a speech at the Munich Security Conference, branding Vladimir Putin a “thug”.
He told attendees: “Putin kills whoever he wants, be it an opposition leader, or anyone else who seems as the target exactly to him.
“After the murder of Alexei Navalny, it’s absurd to perceive Putin as a supposedly legitimate head of a Russian state and he is a thug who maintains power through corruption and violence.”
Speaking ahead of the two-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he said: “He has just yesterday tried to send us all a clear message as the Munich Security Conference opened, Putin murdered another opposition leader.
“So please, let’s not fear Putin’s defeat and the destruction of his regime. Let’s instead work together to destroy what he stands for. It is his fate to lose, not the fate of the rules based world order to vanish.”
He told attendees: “Do not ask Ukraine when the war will end. Ask yourselves why Putin is still able to continue it.”
Watch: Alexei Navalny vigil held outside Russian embassy in London
Crowds gathered at a vigil for Alexei Navalny outside the Russian embassy in London on Friday 16 February. You can watch the demonstration below.
Britain has joined other Western countries in condemning the Kremlin after Russia’s federal prison service said in a statement that the 47-year-old politician and anti-corruption campaigner had died.
Trubites to Alexei Navalny removed overnight by unidentified authorities
Floral tributes to Alexei Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's fiercest foe who died on Friday in a Russian penal colony, were removed overnight by groups of unidentified people while police watched, videos on Russian social media show.
More than 100 people were detained in eight cities across Russia after they came to lay flowers in memory of Mr Navalny, according to OVD-Info, a group that monitors political repression in Russia.
On Saturday, police blocked access to a memorial in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk and detained several people there as well as in another Siberian city, Surgut, OVD-Info said.
Video shared on social media from Novosibirsk showed people sticking red flowers upright in the snow under the watchful eye of police who blocked access to the memorial with ticker tape.
In Moscow, flowers were removed overnight from a memorial near the headquarters of Russia's Federal Security Service by a large group while police looked on, a video showed.
But by morning more flowers had appeared.
‘Putin is a killer’: Alexei Navalny’s friends warn of ‘cover up’ after Russian critic’s death in Arctic prison
No independent confirmation of Navalny's death yet, associates say: 'We cannot trust Putin'
Alexei Navalny's associates have stressed they haven't received independent confirmation of his death in the reports that came from Russia's penitentiary officials.
His close ally Ivan Zhdanov said authorities "must notify the relatives" within 24 hours, but there have been no such notifications.
Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, appearing at the Munich conference, said she did not know whether to believe the official Russian announcement because "we cannot trust Putin and the Putin government. They always lie."
"But if this is true, I want Putin and everyone around Putin, Putin's friends, his government, to know that they will bear responsibility for what they did to our country, to my family and to my husband. And this day will come very soon," she said.
Yulia Navalnaya, wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, speaking at the 60th Munich Security Conference (MSC) at the 'Bayerischer Hof' hotel in Munich, Germany on Friday
'He was scared that day. You could see it in his eyes'
A documentarian who spent two months following Mr Navalny before his arrest has shed light on his fateful decision to return to Russia.
"It’s very easy with our 20-20 hindsight to criticize that decision, especially in [light] of today’s horrific news. But that was Navalny’s decision to make.
"It was incredibly brave, and courageous, and was motivated by his patriotism. And I think history will be litigating that decision for a very long time."
Mr Roher also offered fascinating and sometimes comical memories from his time with the opposition leader such as when the politician questioned his habit of sketching while he worked.
When Mr Roher explained that he had ADHD and that it helped him focus, Mr Navalny turned to his wife and said: "Oh, it's so nice that we hired a director with special needs."
Mr Roher described his subject as savvy about filmmaking, with a keen knowledge of American TV shows such as Breaking Bad, who reflexively used humour to defuse his nervousness.
“He was scared that day," said Mr Roher of the opposition leader's final flight back to Moscow in January 2021. "You could see it in his eyes and I hope that the film captures that.
"He outwardly projects a resoluteness and an assuredness, but if you look into his eyes, it’s clear that he’s nervous. And that’s very human."
Trump's silence on Navalny's death draws flak from Nikki Haley
While a flurry of reactions has come in from international leaders after Alexei Navalny's death, former president Donald Trump has remained silent so far, prompting criticism from his Republican rival Nikki Haley.
Joe Biden has blamed "Putin and his thugs" for the death of Russia's biggest opposition leader, but Mr Trump on Friday continued with his attack on Mr Biden without mentioning anything about Navalny.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump wrote: “America is no longer respected because we have an incompetent president who is weak and doesn’t understand what the World is thinking."
"I am the only one who can bring Peace, Prosperity, and Stability like I did during my first term."
His rival for the presidential race, Nikki Haley slammed the former president for his amiable relationship with Vladimir Putin and remaining silent.
"Donald Trump continues to side with Vladimir Putin - a man who kills his political opponents, holds American journalists hostage, and has never hidden his desire to destroy America," Ms Haley said in an official statement.
In a separate post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Haley wrote: “Putin murdered his political opponent and Trump hasn’t said a word after he said he would encourage Putin to invade our allies. He has, however, posted 20+ times on social media about his legal drama and fake polls."
'With his death, this hope dies'
Muscovites attending a makeshift memorial for Mr Navalny have lauded him as a "symbol of hope" and a courageous figure.
In an interview with the French news agency AFP, Valeria, a tour guide, described Mr Navalny as "a symbol of opposition a symbol of hope for some brighter future for Russia".
Now, she added, "there's a feeling that with his death, this hope dies. If there had been still been any hope left, it is even less now than it was before."
Vladimir, a retired psychologist whose voice appeared to falter with sorrow as he spoke, said that Mr Navalny had been "a fundamental aspect of life for us".
"His courage was seen under many different circumstances. Of course, it's very tough," he said.
Other Moscow residents were more sanguine. "Anything can happen in life. I think it's fate, honestly," a woman named Tatania said, as quoted by CNN.
A man named Mikhail expressed happiness at Mr Navalny's death, saying that "enemies" of Russia "should be dealt with, the sooner the better."
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2024-02-17 10:00:12Z
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