The widow of Kremlin opponent Navalny, who was killed in custody, accuses President Putin of killing her husband. Now the Kremlin is responding and also defending the arrest of mourners.
The Kremlin has rejected an international investigation called for by the EU into the death of imprisoned opposition figure Alexei Navalny. “We do not accept such demands at all,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies.
Russia sees this as interference in its internal affairs. The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had called for such an investigation into the body, which was kept under lock and key in Russia for another two weeks.
Peskov also dismissed Yulia Navalnaya's allegations that Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin killed her husband as “unfounded and outrageous.” In a video message, the 47-year-old blamed Putin for Navalny's death in the prison camp north of the Arctic Circle and announced that she would continue her husband's fight against the Kremlin boss's system.
Peskov said that neither he nor Putin had watched the video message. Given that “Julia Navalnaya is currently widowed,” he wanted to hold back on comments. At the same time, the Kremlin spokesman defended the brutal actions of security forces against Russians who laid flowers and lit candles in many cities across the country in memory of the dead Putin opponent. Peskov said the uniformed officers had fulfilled their duties in accordance with the law.
Social network X temporarily blocks Navalnaya's account
Meanwhile, Julia Navalnaya's account on the social network X (formerly Twitter) was surprisingly blocked for some time today. When I clicked on her profile in the afternoon, a message appeared saying that the account violated X's rules.
The Fund to Fight Corruption (FBK), founded by Navalny, then also posted an appeal to the owner Elon Musk on X: “Please explain exactly which rules were broken by @yulia_navalnaya.” About three quarters of an hour later, the account was released again.
Julia Navalnaya only registered with X yesterday, Monday. There she publicly accused Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin of being behind her husband's death. Among other things, she announced that she wanted to continue Navalny's fight against the power apparatus in Russia. Within one day, the number of readers at X rose to 90,000. As a result, access to Navalnaya's entry was initially restricted. Readers could only reach him with a direct link. Then later the entire profile was blocked for about an hour. According to media reports, even after the closure was lifted, access remained limited.
Arrests over memorial gatherings
Hundreds of people have been arrested in recent days because they publicly commemorated the dead. In urgent proceedings, courts have imposed arrest or fines. Nevertheless, many Russians continued to publicly express their sadness. Navalny's team criticized the fact that people in Russia are now being arrested for laying flowers.
According to Russian authorities, Navalny, who was physically weakened after many days in repeated solitary confinement, collapsed on Friday while walking in the prison camp in freezing temperatures. According to the prison service, attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful. Navalny was 47 years old at the time of death. Human rights activists accuse the Russian power apparatus of murder. Putin's critics have been repeatedly murdered in Russia in recent years.
