Westerners are demanding accountability from Russia on Saturday, February 17, the day after the death of Alexeï Navalny, number one opponent of the Kremlin, which according to Russian authorities occurred in an Arctic prison in circumstances that are still uncertain.

The British government summoned diplomats from the Russian embassy on Friday evening to let them know that Moscow would be held "fully responsible" for the death of Alexei Navalny. London called for a “full and transparent investigation”, like UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres who called for a “credible” investigation.

“Outraged”, the President of the United States Joe Biden accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of being “responsible for the death” of Alexeï Navalny, a “powerful voice for the truth”, the European Union incriminating itself, "the Russian regime".

Also read: Alexeï Navalny: what we know about the death in prison of the Russian opponent

“We hold Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime responsible,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded on Saturday.

So many accusations that the Kremlin judged on Friday “absolutely unacceptable”, Vladimir Putin remaining silent although informed.

“There has not yet been a forensic examination but the West has already drawn conclusions,” noted Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova according to the official Russian news agency. TASS.

Tribute around the world

From Europe to the United States, hundreds of people gathered Friday evening to pay tribute to the political opponent, as in Warsaw where demonstrators, mostly young and many upset, chanted "Putin, assassin" and " Never forget, never forgive.”

“It’s such a tragic day,” said Polina, a 29-year-old gymnastics coach, hailing Alexeï Navalny as a “symbol of freedom, bravery and resistance”.

Moscow authorities have warned Russians against any demonstrations.

People lined up Friday evening to lay flowers in several Russian cities at monuments to political dissidents. Arrests were reported, particularly in the capital, by Russian Telegram channels specializing in monitoring the repression of protest actions.

People gather in tribute to opponent Alexeï Navalny on February 16, 2024 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. © Olga Maltseva, AFP

The causes of death “being established”

Alexeï Navalny was serving a 19-year prison sentence for "extremism" in a remote penal colony in the Arctic, in very difficult conditions. The trials brought against him were widely denounced as a way of punishing him for his opposition to Vladimir Putin.

Read alsoDetention of Alexeï Navalny: Russian penal colonies, legacy of the Soviet Gulag

The Russian authorities provided few details on the circumstances of his death, ensuring in a terse press release that they had done everything to resuscitate the opponent, a man whose health was weakened by his imprisonment, a poisoning in 2020 and a strike. hunger in 2021.

“Prisoner Navalny AA felt unwell after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness,” the Russian prison service in the Arctic region of Yamal said.

“All the necessary resuscitation measures were carried out but did not give a positive result. The emergency doctors noted the death of the patient. The causes of death are being established,” she said. .

Death of Alexeï Navalny: penitentiary center no. 3. © Nalini Lepetit-Chella, Valentina Breschi, AFP

On Thursday, Alexei Navalny participated by video in two hearings before a court in the Vladimir region and did not complain about his health, according to the state news agency Ria Novosti.

His mother, Lyoudmila Navalnaïa, said she saw her son on Monday "in good health and in a happy mood", in a message on Facebook cited by the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

His disappearance at the age of 47 after three years of detention deprives a bloodless opposition of its figurehead, one month before the presidential election which must still cement the power of Vladimir Putin after years of repression.

Also read: Alexeï Navalny: a look back at the career of Vladimir Putin's number one opponent

Dead hope

Prison had not dampened Alexeï Navalny's determination. During his trial hearings and in messages broadcast through his team, he never stopped insulting Vladimir Putin.

In his trial for “extremism”, he castigated “the stupidest and most senseless war of the 21st century”, referring to the Russian offensive against Ukraine which began on February 24, 2022.

Alexei Navalny appears during a video hearing on a screen from a penal colony in the Arctic, January 11, 2024 in Moscow. © Vera Savina, AFP

And in a message on February 1 distributed by his team, the opponent called for demonstrations throughout Russia during the presidential election scheduled for March 15 to 17.

Many opponents have been imprisoned or driven into exile in recent years and repression has increased further since 2022.

One of the best known is Vladimir Kara-Mourza, poisoned twice, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence. He suffers from serious health problems in detention.

Other critics of Vladimir Putin have been assassinated, such as Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead near the Kremlin in February 2015.

Also read: Which voices are still left in Russia to oppose Vladimir Putin?

In Moscow, young people interviewed by AFP were dismayed by the death of Alexeï Navalny.

A 28-year-old tourist guide, Valeria believes that he was “a symbol of hope for a better future”. “I have the impression that with his death, this hope also dies,” she adds.

With AFP

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