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Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny is said to have died in custody.
His wife Julija is now speaking out - and Biden blames Putin.
The news ticker.
Navalny declared dead
: US President Joe Biden blames Putin for death
Kremlin opponent Navalny dies in prison
: Putin has been notified
This
news ticker about Alexei Navalny
is constantly updated.
Update from February 16th, 10:18 p.m.:
Critical tones from Tucker Carlson: After the death of Alexei Navalny, the controversial US moderator suddenly appears thoughtful about the events in Russia.
“It's terrible what happened to Navalny,” he told the
Daily Mail
on Friday evening , adding: “The whole thing is barbaric and terrible.
No decent person would defend it.”
Recently, Tucker Carlson himself came under criticism because he conducted an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin and allowed a lot of propaganda speeches by the Kremlin leader.
The former Fox News presenter then expressed skepticism about new aid to Ukraine and also downplayed criticism of Putin's power apparatus.
“Every leader kills people, leadership requires killing people,” Tucker Carlson said of the many unexplained deaths in Russia.
But Navalny's death now seems to have changed for him.
In the West, at least many politicians reacted with clear words to Putin.
Vladimir Putin and Tucker Carlson.
© Natalia Kolesnikova and Giorgio Viera/afp
Navalny's death: Kremlin rejects Biden's allegations
Update from February 16th, 7:22 p.m
.: First the attack by Joe Biden, then the retaliation from Moscow: The Kremlin has described the Western reaction to the death of the popular opposition politician Alexei Navalny as “overwrought” and “unacceptable”.
There is still no precise information from doctors, forensic experts or the penal system, Kremel spokesman Dmtri Peskov told the
Interfax
agency on Friday evening .
Nevertheless, there are already reactions from the West.
Just a few minutes earlier, Joe Biden had clearly blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the fate of the Kremlin opponent.
“Putin is to blame”: US President Joe Biden comments on the death of Alexei Navalny
Update from February 16, 7:02 p.m.:
Clear blame from Washington:
Following reports of the death of Alexei Navalny
US President Joe Biden blamed Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin for the fate of the regime opponent.
Although we don't know exactly what happened, there is no doubt that Navalny's death was a result of Putin's actions and those of his criminals, Biden said on Friday in the White House.
“Putin is responsible.”
My news
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Update from February 16th, 6:47 p.m.:
The shock turns into protest: In Latvia's capital Riga, several dozen people protested in front of the Russian embassy after the news of the death of the Russian Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny.
In the square opposite the foreign mission, they lit candles and held up posters with a photo of Navalny or inscriptions.
In neighboring Estonia, demonstrators also marched with banners in front of the Russian embassy in the capital Tallinn.
One read in capital letters: “Putin is a murderer.”
Navalny's spokeswoman assumes he is dead
Update from February 16th, 5:59 p.m.:
The evidence is increasing: Close employees of the
Imprisoned Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny has rated reports about his death as very credible.
“Most likely” the reports would be true, said the exiled director of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, Ivan Zhdanov, on Friday evening during a live broadcast on YouTube.
Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysch sat at his side.
“At the moment everything indicates that a murder actually took place - the murder of Alexei Navalny in prison.
And (Vladimir) Putin killed him,” Zhdanov added.
However, confirmation from the team of lawyers who were on their way to the prison where the Kremlin opponent is said to have died on Friday afternoon is still pending.
Update from February 16th, 3:55 p.m.:
The first reactions to the alleged death of opposition politician Alexei Navalny are now coming from those around Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin.
“Washington and Brussels are responsible for Navalny’s death,” said Russian State Duma spokesman Vyacheslav Volodin, according to the state agency
Tass
.
“The death of Navalny benefits Western politicians who have made a number of failed decisions and want to stick to their positions,” said Volodin.
Appearance in Germany: Wife Julija Navalnaya insists on punishment for Putin
Update from February 16th, 3:20 p.m.:
At the Munich Security Conference, Alexei Navalny's wife Julija Navalnaya spoke about the Russian reports about her husband's death.
“If it is the truth that he is dead, then I want Putin and everyone on his staff to be punished for it,”
Focus
quoted Yulia Navalnaya as saying.
“The day will soon come, I address my words to all the people of the world: we must come together and fight against these people.
We have to fight against this regime.
“Putin personally must be held responsible for all the crimes he has committed in our countries,” she said.
At the Munich Security Conference, Yulia Navalnaya spoke about the Russian reports about the death of her husband Alexei Navalny.
© dpa/Sven Hoppe (2)
US comments on reports of Navalny's death: "Terrible tragedy"
Update from February 16th, 3:10 p.m.:
Now the mother of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, Lyudmila, has also commented on the reports from her son's prison camp.
“I don’t want to hear condolences,” she told the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
She visited her son in the prison camp on Monday (February 12) and saw: “He was alive, healthy and happy.”
Update from February 16, 2:50 p.m.:
US Vice President Kamala Harris commented on the reports from Russia about Alexei Navalny's death at the Munich Security Conference.
“If the reports are confirmed, it will be further evidence of Vladimir Putin’s brutality,” Harris said.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan described the death of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny as a “terrible tragedy”.
In an interview with radio station NPR, he emphasized at the same time that the US government did not yet have its own confirmation of the death and was therefore initially holding back from commenting.
“Given the Russian government’s long and sordid history of harming its adversaries, this raises real and obvious questions about what happened here,” Sullivan continued.
Navalny's entourage doubts the news from Russian authorities: "They lied, they lie"
Update from February 16, 2:40 p.m.:
A confidant of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who according to the authorities died in the prison camp, has warned against the Kremlin's lies and Moscow state propaganda in the case.
If the news of Navalny's death is true, then "Nawalny" didn't just die, but Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin "killed Navalny and just like that," said Leonid Volkov, one of Navalny's closest aides.
“They lied, they lie and they will lie,” the opposition activist said on his Telegram channel on Friday.
There is no reason to believe state propaganda.
Update from February 16th, 2:15 p.m.:
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel also commented on the reports about the death of Alexei Navalny.
“The news of Alexei Navalny’s death fills me with great shock.
“He was a victim of Russia’s repressive state power,” she told the Bild newspaper.
“It is terrible that a courageous, fearless voice that stood up for his country was silenced using terrible methods.
My thoughts are with his wife, his children, his friends and his employees,” Merkel continued.
Navalny declared dead by Russian authorities: press spokeswoman reports on Instagram
Update from February 16, 2:05 p.m.:
The press spokeswoman for Alexei Navalny and his family, Kira Yarmysh, commented on Instagram after Russian authorities reported Navalny's death in prison.
“We have no confirmation of this yet,” she wrote in a statement.
Navalny's lawyer is on his way to the northern Russian settlement of Charp, where Navalny's prison camp is located.
“As soon as we have more information, we will report on it,” said Yarmysh.
Alexei Navalny's German lawyer Nikolaos Gazeas was surprised at the news of the opposition figure's death.
Gazeas told the
Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger
that yesterday, Thursday (February 15), Navalny took part in a negotiation in Russia via video link.
He saw the pictures of the trial.
“As usual, he seemed fit and strong,” emphasized Gazeas.
A Russian lawyer visited Navalny on Wednesday.
“He was doing well under the circumstances.”
Alexei Navalny declared dead – Zelensky and Scholz speak together in Berlin
Update from February 16, 1:50 p.m.:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj assumes that Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was killed.
It is very unfortunate that Navalny died in a Russian prison, Zelensky said on Friday, according to the official translation, at a joint press conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in Berlin.
It's obvious to me: he was killed.
Like other thousands who were tortured to death because of this one person.”
“Putin doesn’t care who dies.
The main thing is that he sticks to his position,” said Zelensky.
“And that’s why he should lose everything.
He should lose, he should gamble away everything, and he should then be held responsible for the crimes.”
Navalny declared dead: CSU MP blames Putin for death of opposition politician
Update from February 16th, 1:44 p.m.:
CSU member of the Bundestag and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Jürgen Hardt, spoke to
IPPEN.MEDIA
about the death of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny.
“Alexei Navalny’s death is a tragedy and a loss for the democracy movement and human rights in Russia,” said Hardt, adding: “Alexei Navalny was murdered by the cowardly dictator Putin.”
“Nawalny was such a great danger for Putin because he showed the other side of Russia: inspired by responsibility instead of megalomania,” continued the CSU member of the Bundestag, who underlined: “For Navalny, the individual always had a value and one can go further hardly move away from Putin's regime.
That’s why he had to spend years in prison camps, that’s why he was poisoned and that’s why he ultimately died.”
Hardt praised Navalny’s “tireless commitment to transparency, justice and political reform,” which will remain “unforgotten.”
“May his legacy continue to be an inspiration to all those fighting for a free and just society.
Rest in peace, Alexei Navalny,” said Hardt.
First report from February 16th:
Moscow – Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny is said to be dead.
This is reported by media in Russia with reference to the prison administration.
The state news agency
RIA Novosti
reports that the 47-year-old “felt unwell,” lost consciousness and fell to the ground while walking during his years-long sentence in a penal colony in Russia’s polar region.
Kremlin opponent Navalny declared dead: Putin has been notified
A medical team arrived immediately, the prison administration said in a statement.
Attempts were made to revive the Kremlin opponent, but without success.
He was then declared dead.
The reasons for his death are being investigated, said both the Federal Prison Administration and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin had already been informed of the opposition politician's death, he said.
In 2021, US President Joe Biden warned his Russian counterpart that there would be “consequences” for Russia if Navalny died in prison.
Last year, Navalny's prison sentence was extended to 19 years, and he was also recently transferred to a remote penal colony in Russia's polar region.
Putin's opponent Navalny had been moved to the north: he was already in poor health
The opposition politician has been organizing protests in Russia for years.
After a poison attack in 2020, for which he blames the Kremlin, Navalny was treated in Germany for months.
He returned to Russia in January 2021 and was immediately arrested.
“I have my country and my beliefs,” he said in January.
Anyone who wants to stand up for this in Russia must be prepared to sit in solitary confinement if necessary.
“Of course I don’t like being there.
But I will neither give up my ideas nor my homeland,” said the late Kremlin opponent.
In December 2023, Navalny, who was in poor health, disappeared for a long time.
There was no information about his whereabouts, and Russian authorities did not provide any information.
Only later did it become known that Navalny had been moved to the far north.
He was doing well, he told the journalists sitting there in front of the screen.
“There’s just one problem,” he added in his usual joking manner.
“But I don’t know which court to turn to about this: the weather is bad.”
(lrg/bb)