Stacy
Brussels, February 18, 2025:
The European Union on Sunday held Russian President Vladimir Putin “ultimately responsible” for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, as it marked the first anniversary of his passing.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas praised Navalny for sacrificing his life for a “free and democratic Russia” and urged the immediate release of all political prisoners.
“Today marks one year since the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, for which President Putin and the Russian authorities bear ultimate responsibility,” Kallas said in a statement.
Navalny, a key critic of Putin known for exposing government corruption, died in an Arctic penal colony where he was serving a lengthy prison sentence. Russian authorities claimed he collapsed while walking in the prison yard but have provided no further explanation.
Kallas linked Navalny’s death to Russia’s broader suppression of dissent amid its ongoing war in Ukraine. “As Russia intensifies its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, it also continues its internal repression, targeting those who stand for democracy,” she said.
Navalny’s lawyers remain in prison, along with hundreds of other political detainees, whom the EU demands be freed.
Despite his death, Russian authorities continue to label Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation as “extremist.” Mentioning him publicly without acknowledging this classification can lead to heavy fines or even imprisonment.
Navalny, 47, remained defiant until his death, urging Russians to resist the Kremlin’s rule and condemning Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, even from behind bars. His passing came just weeks before a presidential election that extended Putin’s decades-long grip on power.
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