Moscow:
Alexei Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of hiding the truth about Navalny’s death in light of his first death anniversary, Al Jazeera reported.
Al Jazeera noted that Alexei Navalny’s death was officially attributed to natural causes, in an Arctic penal colony last February. Supporters of the late leading Russian opposition leader are commemorating the one-year anniversary of his death by visiting his grave in Moscow, Al Jazeera reported.
“I am grateful to everyone who remembers Alexei, who talks about him, writes about him, who comes to the cemetery. I am grateful to those who have been supporting me this whole year. Your letters, your hugs when we meet, this is what does not let me forget why Alexei did this and why I’m doing this. If so many good people are on one side, we cannot help but win”, Yulia Navalnaya said in a video message as shared by Al Jazeera.
She further said in the video message, “Even now a year after his death he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) is trying to erase Alexei’s name from our memory to hide the truth about the murder, to make us come to terms, but he will not succeed.”
“The pain we feel makes us stronger and this year has shown that we are stronger than we thought ourselves”, the video message added.
Alexei Navalny was Russia’s high-profile opposition leader who died on February 16, 2024.
Navalny died in the penal colony in Siberia, where he was serving a 19-year sentence after being found guilty of causing an extremist community, financing extremist activists and various other crimes in August, according to CNN report.
He was already serving sentences of 11-and-a-half years in a maximum security facility on fraud and other charges. He had denied the allegations and called it politically motivated.
Navalny was Russia’s high-profile opposition leader and spent years criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin. His death came weeks before Russia’s presidential elections, CNN reported.
The European Union (EU) also shared a statement on the death anniversary of Alexei Navalny.
In the statement by the EU, it said, “President Putin and the Russian authorities bear ultimate responsibility” for the death of Alexei Navalny.
“As Russia intensifies its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, it also continues its internal repression, targeting those who stand for democracy. Alexei Navalny gave his life for a free and democratic Russia. Today, his lawyers remain unjustly imprisoned, together with hundreds of political prisoners. Russia must immediately and unconditionally release Alexei Navalny’s lawyers and all political prisoners”, the statement added.
“Since 2020, the EU has sanctioned those responsible for Alexei Navalny’s poisoning, arbitrary arrest, prosecution and politically motivated sentencing. In 2024, the EU adopted a Russia-specific human rights-focused sanctions regime targeting those who commit human rights violations and repression”, the statement said.
In the statement’s conclusion, the European Union gave a call to Russia “end its brutal repression of civil society, media, and opposition members, and to comply with international law.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)