Alexei Navalny's mother demands Vladimir Putin return her son's body
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This came as Russia opened a new criminal case against the Kremlin critic's brother, Oleg Navalny, Tass reported. The state news agency did not say under which article of the Criminal Code the case was opened. He had previously been convicted of fraud in a case that critics said was aimed at putting pressure on his brother.
Meanwhile, Navalny's 69-year-old mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, made a direct appeal to Vladimir Putin from outside the Arctic penal colony where her son died.
“Let me finally see my son. “I demand that Alexei's body be released immediately so that I can bury him in a humane manner,” she said after authorities said his body would not be released for another two weeks.
Mr Navalny's wife, Yulia, has accused authorities of holding his body to wait for traces of “another Putin Novichok” to leave his body – referring to the military nerve agent he used was poisoned years ago.
Important points
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In his last letters from prison, Navalny gave frightening warnings about a second Trump term
Alexei Navalny issued a chilling warning about what a second term as president could mean for Donald Trump in one of his final letters before he died in an Arctic prison last week.
In a Dec. 3 letter to Evgeny Feldman, a photographer who covered his attempt to run for president in 2018 and now lives in exile in Latvia, Navalny wrote that he feared something should happen to President Joe Biden – a very possible possibility, he said. given the advanced age of the American – “Trump will be president”.
For Navalny, a second term for Mr Trump was a “really scary” prospect for the whole world. “Doesn’t this obvious thing concern the Democrats?” he asked Mr. Feldman, apparently incredulous that the 81-year-old Mr. Biden would seek a second term rather than yield to a younger successor to take over from Mr. Trump.
my colleague Joe Sommerlad has more in this report:
Andy Gregory20. February 2024 8:34 p.m
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EU summons Russia's representatives and calls for international investigation into Navalny's death
The European Union has summoned Russia's representative to the bloc and called for an independent international investigation into the death of Alexei Navalny.
The EU diplomatic service said a senior representative from Brussels also called on Russia to immediately hand over Navalny's body to his family at the meeting with Kirill Loginov, Russia's acting permanent representative to the EU.
“The EU side expressed the EU's outrage over the death of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, for which President Putin and the Russian authorities bear the ultimate responsibility,” it said.
Andy Gregory20. February 2024 8:03 p.m
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Italy summons the Russian ambassador over Navalny's death
The Italian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador over the death of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, a ministry spokesman said.
Andy Gregory20. February 2024 6:39 p.m
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Yulia Navalnaya responds to the Kremlin's response to allegations of her husband's murder
Yulia Navalnaya has responded after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tried to characterize her allegations that her husband was poisoned as “completely unfounded, outrageous accusations against the Russian head of state.”
In her recent post on Return Alexei's body and have him buried with dignity. Don't stop people from saying goodbye to him.
“And I really ask all journalists who might still ask questions: don’t ask about me, ask about Alexei.”
Andy Gregory20. February 2024 5:16 p.m
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Full report: White House to impose 'significant sanctions' on Russia in response to Navalny's death
The White House has announced that a new package of sanctions against Russia will come into force following the death of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny in a Siberian prison camp.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said existing sanctions would be “complemented in particular by additional sanctions related to the death of Mr. Navalny.”
While noting that the US does not yet know the cause of Mr Navalny's death, Kirby continued to shift blame onto Mr Putin, telling reporters: “Regardless of the scientific answer, Putin is responsible.”
my colleague Gustaf Kilander Reports from Washington, DC:
Andy Gregory20. February 2024 4:59 p.m
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The US is announcing a comprehensive sanctions package this week
The US will announce a major package of Russian sanctions on Friday in response to the death of Alexei Navalny, the White House said.
The package will “hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr. Navalny” and for its actions over the course of the war in Ukraine, national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
Andy Gregory20. February 2024 4:32 p.m
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Alexei Navalny's mother Lyudmila Navalnaya lays flowers for her son
Lyudmila Navalnaya, 69, was seen placing a bouquet of white flowers next to a picture of her son.
Alexei Navalny's mother Lyudmila Navalnaya lays flowers for her son
Andy Gregory20. February 2024 3:47 p.m
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X says Yulia Navalnaya's account was blocked “by mistake”.
Social media site
“Our platform's defense mechanism against manipulation and spam was incorrectly flagged
@yulia_navalnaya as a violation of our rules,” it said.
“We unsuspended the account as soon as we became aware of the error and will update the defense.”
They did not explain how she mistakenly believed Ms. Navalnaya had broken the rules.
Tom Watling20. February 2024 3:15 p.m
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Protests, poisonings and prison: The timeline of Alexei Navalny's life and his resistance to Vladimir Putin
Tom Watling20. February 2024 3:10 p.m
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Poland summons the Russian ambassador over Navalny's death
The Polish Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the Russian ambassador over the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
“The ministry called on the Russian authorities to take responsibility for the death of Alexei Navalny and to conduct a comprehensive and transparent investigation to determine the circumstances and cause of his death,” the ministry said in a statement.
Tom Watling20. February 2024 2:42 p.m