The news of the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny reverberated around the world. In record time, numerous world officials and leaders announced themselves through social networks.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that he was “very saddened and disturbed” by reports of the death of the Russian opposition leader.
Stoltenberg said: “We need to establish all the facts, and Russia needs to answer all serious questions about the circumstances of his death.”
The European Union (EU) considers the “Russian regime” solely responsible for the death of Alexei Navalny, the main opponent of President Vladimir Putin, European Council President Charles Michel said. “Alexei Navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy. He made the greatest sacrifice for his ideals… I send my sincere condolences to his family and to those who fight for democracy everywhere in the world. Fighters die, but the fight for freedom never ends,” wrote Michel on platform X.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Navalny’s death “if confirmed, is a terrible tragedy.”
“Given the Russian government’s long and abhorrent pattern of harming its adversaries, there are obvious questions about what happened,” Sullivan said, adding that Washington was seeking to confirm the information before “deciding on further steps.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz assessed that Navalny “paid for his courage with his life”. “Anyone who is committed to democracy has to fear for their safety and their lives, and we are all very sad about that,” Scholz said at a press conference in Berlin alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
Russian newspaper editor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov told Reuters that the death of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny was “murder” and added that he believed prison conditions led to his death.
The Russian Investigative Committee has launched an investigation into the death, the Investigative Committee said.
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said on X/Twitter that Russian opposition leader Aleksey Navalny was “brutally murdered by the Kremlin”. He wrote:
“Whatever you think of him as a politician, the Kremlin just brutally killed him. This is a fact and it is something to know about the true nature of the current Russian regime. My condolences to the family and friends.”
The Czech foreign minister said that Russia “has turned into a violent state that kills people who dream of a better future.” “It is still the case that as Russia treats its foreign policy, so it treats its citizens. It has turned into a violent state that kills people who dream of a better future, like Nemtsov or now Navalny – imprisoned and tortured to death for opposing Putin. Rest in peace.”
Sweden’s foreign minister said that, if the news is true, it is another “horrible crime” by the Putin regime. “Terrible news about Alexei Navalny. “If the report of his death in a Russian prison is true, it represents another horrific crime by the Putin regime. The recklessness towards Navalny shows again why it is necessary to continue the fight against authoritarianism.”
Evika Siliņa, the prime minister of Lithuania, accused the Putin regime of torturing “one of the last symbols of democracy in Russia” to death. “Sincere condolences to the family, and to all who cherish freedom. Putin’s regime imprisoned and now tortured to death one of the last symbols of democracy in Russia. I call on Russia to stop repressing the political opposition and release all political prisoners.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it was “terrible news” and that Navalny had “shown incredible courage”.
“This is terrible news. As the fiercest advocate of Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny has shown incredible courage throughout his life. My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy, The Guardian writes.
