Westerners are calling for Russia to be held accountable for the death yesterday, Friday, of Alexei Navalnya well-known dissident and critic of Moscow, who died, according to Russian authorities, in an Arctic prison under still unclear circumstances.

Her government Britain summoned diplomats from the Russian embassy last night to make it clear that the Russian authorities are held “fully responsible” for Navalny’s death. London called for a “comprehensive and transparent investigation”, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a “credible” investigation.

“Shocked” US President Joe Biden accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of being “responsible for the death” of Navalny, “a strong voice for the truth”, while the EU also blamed “the Russian regime”.

“We hold Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime responsible,” reacted O Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Navalny’s death shows “the weakness of the Kremlin and its fear of all opponents”, stressed the French President Emmanuel Macron from Paris, alongside his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. According to Zelensky, it is “obvious” that Navalny was “murdered like thousands of others (…) because of one man, Putin”.

The Kremlin yesterday described these accusations as “completely unacceptable”, while Putin himself has not commented.

Demonstrations

From Europe as in the US, hundreds of people gathered last night to pay tribute to the dissident, as in Warsaw, where protesters – mostly young people – chanted “Putin, murderer” and “We will never forget, we will never forgive”.

Many hundreds of people also gathered in Berlin in front of the Russian embassy with slogans like “Putin is a murderer!” Putin in The Hague”, where the International Court of Justice is based.

On the other side of the Atlantic, in front of the Russian delegation in Washington, another rally took place. “It’s a tragic day,” said Polina, a 29-year-old gymnast, describing Navalny as “a symbol of freedom, bravery and resistance.”

People queued last night to leave a flower in several Russian cities at monuments to political dissidents, despite warnings from Russian authorities against demonstrations.

Channels on Russian Telegram, which specialize in monitoring the crackdown on protests, reported arrests.

Laconic announcement

The 47-year-old Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence for “extremist activity” in a penal colony in the Arctic circle, under particularly difficult conditions. During his trials in recent months, which he attended via video conference, Alexei Navalny appeared emaciated and aged. He suffered from health problems linked to his prison hunger strike and attempted assassination by poisoning in 2020.

Russian authorities have given very few details about the circumstances of his death, saying in a laconic statement that they were doing everything they could to bring him back.

“On February 16, 2024, in the correctional center number 3, the prisoner Navalny A.A. felt unwell after a walk,” said the announcement of the Russian prison services. “All the necessary resuscitation measures were taken, but without a positive result. Doctors pronounced the patient dead. The causes of his death are under investigation,” he added.

Imprisonment had not dampened his determination. During the hearings and in the messages posted on social media by his advocates, Navalny did not stop to denounce Vladimir Putin, the “grandfather hiding in the bunker”.

At his trial for “extremist action” he denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine as “the most stupid and senseless war of the 21st century”.

In a February 1 message released by his social media team, Alexei Navalny called for protests across Russia during the March 15-17 presidential election, which is certain to be won by Putin in the absence of a rival and opposition.