More than 40 countries made a joint call on Monday to demand a independent international investigation into the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and stated that ultimate responsibility lay with President Vladimir Putin.
Navalny was buried in Moscow on Friday, at a funeral attended by thousands of people under penalty of arrest.
Death of Alexei Navalny: the countries that ask for an investigation
The members of the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Australia They are among the countries that condemned the death of the opponent in a remote Russian prison in the Arctic and urged an end to the “climate of impunity” in Russia.
“We are outraged by the death of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, whose ultimate responsibility lies with President (Vladimir) Putin and the Russian authorities,” he said EU ambassador Lotte Knudsenbefore the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, on behalf of the 43 countries.
“Russia must allow an independent and transparent international investigation about the circumstances of his sudden death,” he added. “Navalny’s unexpected and shocking death is another sign of accelerated and systematic repression in Russia,” he abounded.
Who was Alexei Navalny, the Russian opponent?
Navalny, Putin’s staunchest critic for more than a decade, died at 47 years old in an arctic penal colony on February 16where he was serving a 19-year sentence for charges of “extremism”, in conditions that have yet to be clarified.
The opponent’s death took place a month before the Russian presidential elections, in which, in all likelihood, Putin will remain in power with a new six-year term.
The repression of freedom of expression in Russia
The signatory countries regretted “the systematic heavy hand against civil society” and the repression against political opposition inside and outside Russia.
Also They urged Moscow to unconditionally and immediately release all political prisoners, human rights defenders, journalists and anti-war activistsarbitrarily detained for having expressed their opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“We ask the Russian Federation to put an end to this climate of impunity and create a safe environment for political opposition and critical voices,” the statement said.
Source: Ambito
