A total of 43 countries, including the United States of America, the European Union and Great Britain, sent a joint appeal today to conduct an international investigation into the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in prison in Russia.
“We are outraged by the death of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, for which (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin and the Russian authorities are ultimately responsible,” EU Ambassador Lotte Knudsen told the Human Rights Council in Geneva, speaking on behalf of 43 country, reports Beta.
Navalny, 47, who was a fierce critic of the Kremlin, died on February 16 in one of Russia’s strictest penal colonies where he was serving a 19-year sentence.
Russian authorities said the cause of his death is still unknown, and the results of the investigation are likely to be questioned abroad, AP writes.
Navalny was buried on March 1 at the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow.
His death triggered a wave of condemnation in the West.
“Russia should authorize an independent and transparent international investigation into the circumstances of this sudden death,” the signatories of the call stated, adding that the death represents “a new signal of growing and systematic repression in Russia.”
Those countries are also calling on Russia to release political prisoners, journalists, human rights activists and opponents of the war in Ukraine.
“We call on the Russian Federation to end this climate of impunity and create a safe environment for political opposition and critical voices,” the call reads.
