Moscow police arrest people at Navalny memorial event
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Vladimir Putin believes he is “untouchable” after years of an iron grip on Russia, the wife of jailed opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza said, accusing the autocrat of murdering Alexei Navalny.
Speaking to the BBC, Evgenia Kara-Murza said: “All the decades of impunity have led to this [Putin] to believe that he is somehow untouchable.”
She added that Putin remaining in power would mean “even more warmongering” in Ukraine.
Previously, Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy had called for Mr Putin to be tried by a special tribunal over Mr Navalny's death.
Russian environmentalist Yevgenia Chirikova told The Independent that she plans to increase her support for the Ukrainian military in honor of her friend Mr Navalny.
The Russian opposition activist's team accused authorities of deliberately hiding his body to cover up “traces” of what they believed was a clear murder.
“They're trying to cover up tracks, that's why they're not giving the body to his family and that's why they're just hiding him from them,” Kira Yarmysh, Mr Navalny's spokeswoman, told the BBC.
Important points
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'No evidence' Russia has decided what to do with emerging anti-satellite weapon, Biden says
President Joe Biden said Friday there was no sign that Russia had decided to use a new anti-satellite weapon, the revelation of which shocked Washington this week.
The White House has confirmed that US intelligence officials have information indicating that Russia has such a capability, although such a weapon is not yet operational. Biden said Friday that “there is no evidence that they have decided to proceed in space,” while continuing to emphasize that there is no immediate danger to humans.
Tom Watling18. February 2024 1:00 p.m
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Over 400 people detained in Russia as country mourns Alexei Navalny, Putin's fiercest enemy
Over 400 people were arrested in Russia as they paid tribute to opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in a remote Arctic penal colony, a prominent human rights group reported.
The sudden death of 47-year-old Navalny was a blow to many Russians who had pinned their hopes for the future on President Vladimir Putin's fiercest enemy. Navalny remained consistent with his relentless criticism of the Kremlin even after surviving nerve agent poisoning and receiving multiple prison sentences.
Tom Watling18. February 2024 12:30
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The Russian activist had to “educate children” about what nerve agent poisoning looks like
A former Russian supermodel activist has revealed she had to inform her children about what nerve agent poisoning looks like following the death of Alexei Navalny – and fears something could happen to her.
Ksenia Maximova helped Russians escape Putin's regime and now lives in the UK. She is afraid to return to her home country because she would probably be arrested there.
“I was told not to worry about my safety here [the UK]she told Sky's Trevor Phillips.
“There are some places I definitely can’t travel to,” she added, noting that she would be extradited.
The Russian activist had to “educate children” about what nerve agent poisoning looks like
A former Russian supermodel activist has revealed she had to inform her children about what nerve agent poisoning looks like following the death of Alexei Navalny – and fears something could happen to her. Ksenia Maximova helped Russians escape Putin's regime and now lives in the UK. She is afraid to return to her home country because she would probably be arrested there. “I was told not to worry about my safety here [the UK]she told Sky's Trevor Phillips. “There are some places I definitely can’t travel to,” she added, noting that she would be extradited.
Tom Watling18. February 2024 12:00
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Letter: Putin's name has become synonymous with cowardice
The name Alexei Navalny will become synonymous with courage. Vladimir Putin has just become a coward.
Russia has a tradition of admiring strong men. They had one in Navalny. They just found out that they have a weakling and a coward in Putin. Every household and every soldier in Russia knows this tonight.
Putin has actually dealt a fatal blow: to himself.
Flowers and tributes are laid opposite the Russian Embassy to commemorate the death of Alexei Navalny in London
(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Tom Watling18. February 2024 11:32
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Wife of jailed Russian activist believes “many more” prisoners are in danger
The wife of jailed Russian opposition leader Vladamir Kara-Murza has admitted she believes “many more” prisoners are in danger following the death of Alexei Navalny.
Evgenia Kara-Murza appeared on BBC News this morning (February 18) where she explained that her suspicions were aroused by her seemingly healthy husband's collapse in 2015.
“I've been sleeping with my phone ever since I've been afraid of another call like this,” she said. “I believe that my husband's life is in danger, as are the lives of many other political prisoners… These people are kept behind bars, very often with serious illnesses and without adequate medical treatment.”
Wife of jailed Russian activist believes “many more” prisoners are in danger
The wife of jailed Russian opposition leader Vladamir Kara-Murza has admitted she believes “many more” prisoners are in danger following the death of Alexei Navalny. Evgenia Kara-Murza appeared on BBC News this morning (February 18) where she explained that her suspicions were aroused by her seemingly healthy husband's collapse in 2015. “I sleep with my phone since I'm afraid of another call like this.” She said. “I believe that my husband's life is in danger, as are the lives of many other political prisoners… These people are kept behind bars, very often with serious illnesses and without adequate medical treatment.”
Tom Watling18. February 2024 10:56
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Putin should be brought before an international tribunal, says shadow foreign secretary
Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to face an international tribunal for crimes against humanity following the death of Alexei Navalny.
He told the BBC program Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “We have called for a special tribunal for crimes of aggression and against humanity.
“I would like to see Putin before this special tribunal, held accountable for all his crimes, not just in Ukraine but, as we have just seen in the last 48 hours, in Russia as well.
“And since Russia is holding elections this year, it is of course important that the international community can verify that these are free and fair elections.”
Pavel Shumilkin lights candles for a vigil for Alexei Navalny in front of San Francisco City Hall
(Online_Yes)
Tom Watling18. February 2024 10:15
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Cameron rightly blamed Putin for Navalny's death, says the minister
Illegal Immigration Minister Michael Tomlinson said the foreign minister was right to “blame Putin” for the death of Alexei Navalny.
He told Sky's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that Lord Cameron was “very strong and forceful in his condemnation and open blaming of Putin for what happened”.
“We have also sanctioned 1,700 individuals and entities since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and it is right that the Secretary of State is considering the appropriate next steps.”
He continued: “It is very clear, as the foreign minister has said, that Putin should be blamed.”
“Alexei Navalny was a courageous politician. All of us involved in politics in the West know how difficult and challenging it is, but imagine how difficult it is to stand up to Putin.”
“In my opinion, the foreign minister is absolutely right to blame Putin.”
Tom Watling18. February 2024 09:45
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Navalny's family is demanding the return of his body, while hundreds are held at memorials across Russia
Navalny, 47, Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic, died on Friday in the brutal Arctic penal colony Polar Wolf in Charp, about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow, where he was serving a three-decade prison sentence. Prison authorities who announced his death claimed he fell unconscious after taking a walk.
Tom Watling18. February 2024 09:15
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More than 400 people have been arrested in Russia at events commemorating Navalny, human rights group says
According to human rights group OVD-Info, more than 400 people have been arrested at events in 32 Russian cities since the death of Alexei Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's main opponent, as Russians continued to collect and lay flowers.
It is the largest wave of arrests at political events in Russia since September 2022, when more than 1,300 people were arrested in demonstrations against a “partial mobilization” of reservists for Putin's military operation in Ukraine.
Navalny, a 47-year-old former lawyer, fell unconscious and died on Friday after a walk in the Arctic penal colony Polar Wolf, where he was serving a three-decade sentence, prison authorities said.
According to OVD-Info, which reports on freedom of assembly in Russia, most of the arrests occurred in St. Petersburg and Moscow, where Navalny has traditionally had strong support. As of 2000 GMT Saturday, more than 200 people had been arrested in St. Petersburg.
However, there was no mention of the events in Russian state news agencies, which are entirely under Kremlin control. There were also no reports of the hundreds of people across Russia who continued to defy authorities and spontaneously laid flowers at Navalny memorials.
Police officers stand at the Wall of Mourning in Moscow on February 17, 2024, next to flowers left for the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny
(AFP via Getty Images)
Tom Watling18. February 2024 08:41
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Alexei Navalny's mother is searching for her son's body in the Russian Arctic
For the mother of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in an Arctic penal colony at age 47, the journey to recover her son's body on Saturday was an odyssey with no clear destination.
In the end, she didn't get what she came for.
Stuti Mishra, February 18, 2024, 7:30 am