Around forty countries, including European Union members, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, launched a joint call on Monday for an international investigation into the death of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny, for which they blame President Vladimir Putin.
• Also read: Navalny's death: Canada imposes sanctions on Russia
• Also read: Navalny's funeral: 45 arrests at rallies
• Also read: Alexei Navalny: the opponent whose name Putin never mentioned
“We are outraged by the death of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, whose ultimate responsibility lies with (Russian) President Vladimir Putin and the Russian authorities,” EU Ambassador Lotte Knudsen said on behalf of the 43 countries at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Alexei Navalny, a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin, died on February 16 under unclear circumstances in an Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence for “extremism” and was buried in Moscow on Friday. His death sparked a wave of condemnation in the West.
- Listen to Yasmine Abdelfadel's editorial QUB :
“Russia must authorize an independent and transparent international investigation into the circumstances of this sudden death,” believe the 43 states, asserting in a press release that this death represents a “new sign of the growing and systematic repression in Russia.”
More broadly, these countries are calling on Russia to release political prisoners, journalists, human rights defenders and anti-war protesters in Ukraine.
“We call on the Russian Federation to end this climate of impunity and create a safe environment for political opposition and critical voices.”
They also called on Russia to “abolish its repressive legislation” and “put an end to political abuse of the judiciary.”
“Russian political leaders and authorities must be held accountable,” Ms. Knudsen stressed, adding that “Navalny’s courage, sacrifice and unwavering commitment to justice, freedom and democracy will never be forgotten.”
End of “repression”
The death of Alexei Navalny “increases my serious concerns about his persecution,” commented United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
Russian authorities have further stepped up the suppression of dissenting voices ahead of Russia's presidential election this month, in which he complained that several candidates were disqualified from running due to alleged administrative irregularities.
“Since the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine, thousands of politicians, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and people who simply expressed their opinions on social networks have been the subject of administrative and criminal proceedings, and this trend seems to be continuing in recent months to have reinforced it.”, remarked Mr. Türk
“I call for a rapid and comprehensive review of all cases of deprivation of liberty resulting from the exercise of fundamental freedoms and an immediate end to the suppression of independent voices and the lawyers who represent them,” he added.
In response to Volker Türk, the Russian representative accused the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights of producing “anti-Russian reports” that “reproduce Ukrainian and Western inventions.”
“There is no shortage of openly forged documents targeting our country. “This seems particularly cynical,” he continued, calling on Mr. Türk and his services to “start with an objective assessment of the situation in the world.”