The 27 foreign ministers of the European Union will meet in Brussels this Monday, February 19th. Alexei Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaïa, is invited to this meeting, which will discuss EU-Russia relations and support for Ukraine.
Published on: 02/19/2024 – 1:17 p.m. Modified on: 02/19/2024 – 1:59 p.m
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European foreign ministers invited Yulia Navalnaya to speak at the beginning of the part of the meeting dedicated to Russia and Ukraine, says the RFI correspondent in Brussels. Pierre Benazet. So that they welcome the widow ofAlexei Navalny has a high symbolic value.
And to concretize their support for their fight for democracy and the rule of law, they believe that the best way is to intensify their support for Ukraine. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, reminds that the main person responsible for the EU is Russian President Vladimir Putin: “We must send a message of support to the Russian opposition.” We must continue to support the Russian people, who are in freedom want to live. And to pay tribute to Navalny and honor his memory, I will propose to ministers to rename our human rights sanctions regime after his name and call it: the sanctions regime against human rights violations Navalny's husband, so that his name is forever inscribed in the sanctions regime work of European Union for the Defense of Human Rights. »
And five days before the second anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, the Europeans are about to impose a thirteenth set of sanctions against Russia, with a list of 200 sanctioned individuals and entities.
Read alsoRussia: Opponent Alexei Navalny dies in prison
Yulia Navalnaïa is on her feet more than ever
In this video published on social networks at midday, Yulia Navalnaïa says that she will continue her husband's work.
And then it happened to Alex Navaly. I'll stay on the street. It will be sent to you today. pic.twitter.com/aBOIvcYHHk
— Yulia Navalnaya (@yulia_navalnaya) February 19, 2024
– “Three days ago, Vladimir Putin killed my husband, Alexei Navalny. Putin killed the father of my children. […] ” With him, [Poutine] wanted to kill our hope, our freedom, our future. » During his detention, Alexei Navalny was “mistreated, cut off from the world” and “yet he didn’t give up,” she recalled.
“My husband couldn’t be broken, and that’s why Putin killed him,” said Yulia Navalnaïa.
She promised to find out “who committed this crime” and under what circumstances. “I will continue the work of Alexei Navalny. I will continue with you for our country. And I call on all of you to stand close to me […] “It’s not a shame to do little, it’s a shame to do nothing, it’s a shame to be scared,” she said.
Access to the opponent's body is still impossible
In Russia, people close to Alexei Navalny were once again denied access to the opponent's remains for the third time in a row.
According to Ms. Iarmich, the Investigative Committee, which is responsible for the main criminal investigations in Russia, confirmed that “the reviews related to Navalny’s death have been extended,” without specifying the deadlines. “The cause of death is still unknown. They lie, play for time and don’t even hide it,” criticized Kira Iarmich.
Evgeni Smirnov, lawyer at the specialized NGO Pervy Otdel, believes that investigators can legally keep the body of a deceased person in prison for up to 30 days: “The body of Alexei Navalny is therefore completely under the control of the inspector.” […] It is very easy to find legal reasons to keep the remains for months or even longer.”
Also note this response from the Kremlin, which speaks of disgusting statements about Western accusations. The spokesman for the Russian presidency says that an investigation is underway and no conclusions can yet be drawn about the death of the Russian opponent.
Also read: Navalny's relatives accuse Russia of hiding his body to 'cover up' the 'murderers'