Jailed Russian Opposition Leader Navalny's Death Spurs Western Outcry, Rebuke to Putin

Western governments, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, came down heavily on Vladimir Putin on Friday over the sudden death of the Russian President’s most outspoken critic Alexei Navalny.

Navalny, 47, died in the Arctic prison colony where he was serving a 19-year term.  In a statement, Russia’s federal penitentiary service said Navalny lost consciousness after a walk and could not be revived by medics, the prison service said.

Read More: Who Was Alexei Navalny? Russian Opposition Leader Survived Poison Attack But Died In Prison

The White House said the death of the Russian opposition leader, if confirmed, would be “a terrible tragedy.” Speaking on NPR, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also added the Kremlin’s “long and sordid” history of harming its opponents “raises real and obvious questions about what happened here.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the death of Navalny is “terrible news” and a “huge tragedy” for the people of Russia. “As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life,” Sunak said on X, formerly Twitter, adding that his “thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia”.

Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the opposition leader’s death, saying the Russian opposition leader paid for his courage with his life. Scholz recalled occasions when he had spoken with Navalny about the “great courage” that prompted him to return to Russia after recovering in Berlin from a poisoning attack. “He has now paid for this courage with his life,” said Scholz.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that it was “obvious” that Navalny was killed by the regime of Putin, who must be held to account over his death. “Obviously he was killed by Putin. Like thousands of others who have been tortured,” said Zelensky, adding that this demonstrates why Putin must be made to “lose everything and held accountable for his actions”.

Navalny had been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. Before his arrest, he campaigned against official corruption, organized major anti-Kremlin protests and ran for public office. He had since received three prison sentences, all of which he rejected as politically motivated. But the Kremlin dismissed these allegations and accused him of being an agent of the West.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said there were “serious questions” for the Kremlin to answer over Navalny’s death. “I am deeply saddened and concerned about reports coming from Russia that Alexei Navalny is dead, all the facts have to be established and Russia has serious questions to answer,” Stoltenberg told journalists. Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov described Navalny’s death as “murder” and said he had been tortured for “years”. Exiled Russian opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov blamed Putin for the “murder” of the jailed leader.

(With agency inputs)