As of: February 18, 2024, 4:59 a.m
By: Jens Kiffmeier, Bedrettin Bölükbasi, Lukas Rogalla
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The death of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny has been confirmed.
Now his team is fighting to ensure that the body is returned to the family.
The news ticker.
Confirmation
from the team: Death of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny is now certain
Navalny declared dead
: US President Joe Biden blames Putin for death
This
news ticker about Alexei Navalny
is constantly updated.
Update from February 17th, 10:10 p.m.:
The G7 foreign ministers have demanded that Russia fully clarify the circumstances of the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
After a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Italian leader Antonio Tajani said ministers had expressed outrage over Navalny's death in custody.
The opposition politician was wrongly convicted because of legitimate political activities and his fight against corruption.
The ministers called on the Russian authorities to “fully clarify the circumstances of his death.”
In addition, the G7 foreign ministers demanded that Russia stop the “unacceptable persecution” of political dissidents as well as the systematic suppression of freedom of expression and the unreasonable restrictions on civil rights.
In addition to Germany and Italy, the G7 countries of economically strong democracies also include France, Japan, Canada, the USA and Great Britain.
Update from February 17th, 5:55 p.m.:
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko blames Russian President Vladimir Putin for the death of Alexei Navalny and does not consider the timing immediately before the Munich Security Conference to be a coincidence.
As the president who makes all decisions in Russia, Putin bears responsibility for Navalny's death, Klitschko told the German Press Agency on the sidelines of the security conference.
This shows once again the true face of Russian politics.
“This is a dictatorship,” said Klitschko.
Anyone who disagrees with Putin will be murdered or put in prison.
Navalny's spokeswoman confirmed his death on Saturday morning, citing Navalny's mother Lyudmila Navalnaya.
Navalnaya traveled to the prison camp in northern Russia and received the news of his death there.
The 47-year-old is said to have died on February 16th at 2:17 p.m. local time (10:17 a.m. CET).
Just three hours later, the Munich Security Conference began, in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj also took part - among other things, to meet with his Western allies.
“I don’t think this is a coincidence,” said Klitschko.
The Kiev mayor and former professional boxer hopes that resistance against Putin will now grow in Russia.
“Everyone is afraid to say something against it,” he admitted.
But there is “a critical mass” who have lost relatives in this war and are dissatisfied with Putin’s government.
She couldn't stay silent.
Death of Kremlin opponent Navalny: Widow of former Russian spy Litvinenko calls for action
Update from February 17th, 4:30 p.m.:
After the death of the prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the widow of the murdered Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko has called on the international community to take consistent action against the Russian leadership.
US President Joe Biden has said in the past that there would be devastating consequences for Russian leader Vladimir Putin if Navalny died, Marina Litvinenko told the AFP news agency on Saturday.
“I want to see what it means, not just words,” emphasized Marina Litvinenko: “This is very important.
Move from words to actions.”
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Above all, this means support for Ukraine in the war against Russia.
“The only way to help the Russian opposition in the fight against Putin's regime is to support Ukraine,” emphasized the wife of the ex-spy who was killed in 2006 by poisoning with radioactive polonium.
If Ukraine wins the war against Russia, “it could enable people within Russia to advocate for change.”
Marina Litvinenko expressed her condolences to the widow of Navalny, who died suddenly in a Russian prison camp on Friday.
“I understand Julia very well after what happened to her husband.
You always think something like this won’t happen to you,” she said.
The death of the Kremlin critic is “a very sad day” not only for Navalny’s relatives, but “for many Russians who believe in a better future for Russia.”
Update from February 17th, 1:31 p.m.:
After the now confirmed death of Alexei Navalny, his body initially appears to be untraceable.
As his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysch reported on the platform
The morgue was closed and the lawyer did not receive a satisfactory answer using the contact telephone number posted at the entrance.
“He was told he was the seventh caller that day,” Jarmysch wrote.
“And Alexei's body is not in the morgue with them.” An employee of the prison camp beyond the Arctic Circle had previously reported that Navalny's body was in the city of Salekhard for examination, Yarmysch said.
Accordingly, the mother was initially unable to identify the body.
Alexei Navalny's death confirmed: Mother receives death notice while visiting prison camp
Update from February 17th, 11:45 a.m.:
The team of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny has confirmed his death.
His spokeswoman Kira Yarmysch announced this on Saturday on X (formerly Twitter), citing Navalny's mother Lyudmila Navalnaya.
She had traveled to the prison camp in northern Russia and received news of her death there.
The 47-year-old's death is said to have occurred on February 16 at 2:17 p.m. local time (10:17 a.m. CET).
The Russian penal system had previously informed about Navalny's death, who had been imprisoned since 2021.
An employee of the prison camp beyond the Arctic Circle said that Navalny's body was in the city of Salekhard for examination, Yarmysch said.
Accordingly, the mother was initially unable to identify the body.
The city is around 50 kilometers from the prison camp.
Jarmysch said employees of the state investigative committee had picked up the body.
“We demand that Alexei Navalny’s body be returned to the family immediately,” his spokeswoman said.
The circumstances of the death remain unclear.
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has died in custody, according to the judiciary.
© Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP / dpa |
Editing: IPPEN.MEDIA
Update from February 17th, 11:29 a.m.:
Great Britain has promised consequences after the alleged death of Alexei Navalny and summoned a representative of the Russian Embassy.
“There should be consequences when such terrible human rights violations take place,” said Foreign Secretary David Cameron, according to
Sky News
on Saturday.
It will be checked whether there are individual responsible parties and individual measures that could be taken.
“We don’t announce them in advance, so I can’t say more than that.”
Of course they had already summoned the ambassador.
“We have made clear our view of this terrible event and the way this person was treated,” Cameron said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
In Munich he will also meet with colleagues from the G7 countries.
The Foreign Ministry in London announced on Friday evening that Navalny's death must be fully and transparently investigated.
Update from February 17th, 10:01 a.m.:
After the alleged death of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny in a prison camp, people in Russia continue to mourn the opposition activist despite arrests and pressure from the authorities.
In Moscow and other cities, men in civilian clothes or city cleaning employees cleared spontaneously erected memorial sites for the 47-year-old, who died in custody in the polar region under unclear circumstances.
They packed flowers in garbage bags and collected candles and pictures.
Media in many parts of Russia reported on Saturday that fresh flowers were still being laid, candles were being lit and pictures were being put up in memory of Navalny.
According to human rights activists, there were more than 100 arrests across the country.
The Internet portal ovd.info reported on Saturday morning that more than 60 people had been arrested in St. Petersburg alone.
There were arrests in ten cities, including Moscow, Bryansk and Krasnodar.
“How great the power apparatus's fear of a dead person is when even laying flowers in his memory is viewed as a crime,” wrote the Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Kremlin-critical newspaper
Novaya Gazeta
, Dmitri Muratov, on Telegram.
Arrests in Russia: People visit Navalny memorials
Update from February 17th, 7:01 a.m.:
In Russia there have apparently been arrests of people who attended events in honor of Alexei Navalny, who was reported dead.
According to
Radio Liberty
, the police in Saint Petersburg arrested around 20 people who commemorated Navalny at a memorial for the victims of political repression on Vozkresenskaya Embankment.
City residents walked to the memorial for several hours to lay flowers.
At around 9 p.m. local time, the police arrived on site on the grounds that the event had not been approved and began arresting the participants, the broadcaster said.
Journalists Alexey Dushutin of Novaya Gazeta
and Elina Kozich of
RusNews
are among those arrested, according to reports
.
“It’s barbaric”: Navalny’s death prompts Putin friend Tucker Carlson to rethink
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.
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.”
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)