The EU considers the Putin regime responsible for Navalny's death

The EU has no doubts about the responsibility for the death of the Russian opponent Alexei Navalny announced this Friday by the Russian prison authorities: the autocratic regime of Vladimir Putin.

“The EU considers the Russian regime solely responsible for this tragic death,” accused the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, on X (formerly Twitter), as soon as the news broke.

The reaction of the former Belgian Prime Minister has been one of the first to arrive and has marked a path followed by many of the leaders of the Member States and the heads of the Union's institutions.

One of them has been the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen: “Putin fears nothing more than the dissidence of his own people.

“A grim reminder of what Putin and his regime are.”

The news marked the beginning of the Munich Security Conference, a forum that brings together political, military and diplomatic leaders from much of the world.

Navalni's wife, Yulia, took to the main stage of the Bavarian event this Friday just after the intervention of the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris.

Visibly shaken, but whole, she addressed the audience, full of leaders, after a long applause.

“I am sure that, in my place, at this moment Alexei would have decided to get on this stage.

I don't know if we should believe the terrible news that we receive only from official media.

For many years, they have lied constantly.

But if it's the truth, I want Putin and his team to know that they will be punished for what they have done to our country and to my family.

They will be brought to justice.

That day will come soon.

I call on the entire international community to unite, fight this evil, this horrible regime,” said the opponent's wife.

Alexei @navalny fought for the values ​​of freedom and democracy.

For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice.

The EU holds the Russian regime solely responsible for this tragic death.

I extend my deepest condolences to his family.

And to those who fight for democracy around…

— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) February 16, 2024

“If the death is confirmed, it is further proof of Putin's brutality.

No matter what they say, the responsibility lies with Russia,” Harris had emphasized shortly before.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had spoken along the same lines in the Bavarian capital: “If this information is correct, our thoughts go to his wife and his family.

His death in a Russian prison, and one man's obsession and fear, only underscore the weakness and rot at the heart of the system Putin has built.

“Russia is responsible for this.”

“All the facts have to be clarified and Russia has serious questions to answer.

Navalny was a strong voice for democracy and freedom for many years and allies had long called for his release,” said Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, also in Munich.

“While waiting for more information, let's be clear: this is Putin's exclusive responsibility,” said the high representative of Foreign Affairs and Security of the EU, Josep Borrell, also from the German city, on his official account on X.

From the capitals, the echoes heard are no different: “He has probably paid for his bravery with his life.

We know what regime this is,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

His neighbor, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, has also blamed Moscow, pointing out that Navalny's death “illustrates the unprecedented brutality of the Russian regime.”

Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny took part in a demonstration in Moscow's Pushkin Square on March 5, 2012. Konstantin Zavrazhin (Getty Images)

Alexei Navalny with his wife, Yulia, during a hearing at the Lublinsky Court in Moscow, on April 23, 2015. Tatyana Makeyeva (REUTERS)

Alexei Navalny, in Moscow moments before visiting the Russian Central Electoral Commission, on December 25, 2017. Anadolu (Getty Images)

Russian opponent Alexei Navalny, with his wife, Yulia, and their children, Daria and Zakhar, after voting in 2019. Andrew Lubimov (AP)

Navalny was detained by police in the center of Moscow during a protest, on March 26, 2017. Evgeny Feldman (AP)

Alexéi Navalni, moments before a hearing at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (France), on November 15, 2018. PATRICK SEEGER (EFE)

Alexei Navalny attends a demonstration in support of independent candidates who were not authorized to participate in the Duma elections, on July 20 in Moscow.

Anadolu (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Alexei Navalny participated in a march in memory of the Russian politician Boris Nemtsov, on February 24, 2019. Anadolu (Getty Images)

Alexei Navalny cast his vote at a polling station during the elections to the Moscow City Parliament, on September 8, 2019. Tatyana Makeyeva (REUTERS)

Navalny, upon leaving a detention center after having been imprisoned for 30 days for calling an unauthorized protest in Moscow, on August 23, 2019. Evgenia Novozhenina (REUTERS)

Alexei Navalny posed with his family during his admission to the Charite hospital in Berlin (Germany), on September 15, 2020. SOCIAL MEDIA (via REUTERS)

Alexei Navalny left a police station in handcuffs on the outskirts of Moscow, on January 18, 2021. SERGEI ILNITSKY (EFE)

Alexei Navalny appeared by videoconference before a Moscow district court, from a prison in the Vladimir region, on April 26, 2023.YULIA MOROZOVA (REUTERS)

Navalny had won the Sakharov Prize in 2021, awarded by the European Parliament for the fight for freedom of conscience.

He was already in prison then and could not go to collect the award.

The decoration was awarded to him “for his immense bravery” in denouncing the “corruption of Vladimir Putin's regime.”

And this is what the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, recalled in a message on X: “The world has lost a fighter whose courage will resonate through generations.

[...] his fight for democracy is still alive.

The Maltese woman began her text by declaring herself “horrified.”

The world has lost a fighter whose courage will echo through generations.

Horrified by the death of Sakharov Prize laureate Alexei Navalny.

Russia took his freedom & his life, but not his dignity.

His struggle for democracy lives on.

Our thoughts are with his wife & children.

pic.twitter.com/JMSAkLpb0T

— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) February 16, 2024

Charles Michel has also influenced this facet of the activist: “Alexéi Navalni fought for the values ​​of freedom and democracy.

For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice.”

The president of the European Council closed his message with a solemn phrase: “Combatants die.

But the fight for freedom never ends.”

Another Belgian politician, Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, also reacted: “Alexéi Navalny was a defender of democracy and human rights.

[...] Our thoughts are with Navalny's family and friends and with all the brave Russian political prisoners.”

Alexei Navalny was an advocate for democracy and human rights.

His tragic death again underscores why we will continue to support #Ukraine

Russia will not prevail in Ukraine.

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of @navalny and all brave Russian political prisoners.

https://t.co/L6nW0E0Wwq

— Alexander De Croo 🇧🇪🇪🇺 (@alexanderdecroo) February 16, 2024

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