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Navalny's Death Still Casts Shadow 02/17 06:17
MOSCOW (AP) -- Mourners gathered in Moscow Monday to mark two years since
the death in custody of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, under the
shadow of a Kremlin crackdown and just two days since a new analysis reinforced
suspicions that he was killed by poisoning.
Navalny died in an Arctic penal colony on Feb. 16, 2024, while serving a
19-year sentence that many believed to be politically motivated. His death at
the age of 47 left the Russian opposition leaderless and divided, struggling to
build an effective or united front without one of its most visible and
charismatic figures.
On the second anniversary of Navalny's death, we look at the latest
investigation into its cause and the continuing political repercussions, both
within Russia and beyond.
Across Russia, Navalny's supporters pay their respects
Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, and his mother-in-law, Alla
Abrosimova, were among the mourners laying flowers on his grave. A mound of
bouquets rose above the heavy drifts of snow that blanketed Moscow's Borisovsky
Cemetery.
Representatives from several European embassies also paid their respects,
watched by a conspicuously high security presence. Later, a small choir
gathered to sing by Navalny's graveside.
Addressing the crowd, Lyudmila Navalnaya restated her belief that her son
was killed by the Russian authorities, a scenario which has also been backed by
several European countries in recent days. "We knew that our son did not simply
die in prison," she said. "He was murdered."
The Kremlin has denied the allegations, saying that Navalny died of natural
causes.
Flowers were also laid at the memorial to the victims of political
repression in St Petersburg. Access to the site was later blocked with
temporary fences, local news outlets reported.
European nations believe Navalny was poisoned
The anniversary coincides with the release of a joint statement by five
European countries, which said that Navalny was poisoned by the Kremlin with a
rare and lethal toxin found in the skin of poison dart frogs.
The foreign ministries of the U.K., France, Germany, Sweden and the
Netherlands said on Saturday that analysis in European labs of samples taken
from Navalny's body "conclusively confirmed the presence of epibatidine." The
neurotoxin secreted by dart frogs in South America is not found naturally in
Russia, they said.
A joint statement said: "Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to
administer this poison."
In a written tribute to Navalny on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron
also linked the Kremlin with the opposition leader's death.
"Two years ago, the world learned of the death of Alexei Navalny. I pay
tribute to his memory," Macron wrote on social media. "I said then that I
believed his death said everything about the Kremlin's weakness and its fear of
any opponent. It is now clear that this death was premeditated.
"Truth always prevails, while we await justice to do the same."
Moscow has vehemently denied its involvement in Navalny's death, saying that
the politician had become unwell after going for a walk.
When asked about the allegations by journalists on Monday, presidential
spokesperson said that the Kremlin does "not accept such accusations."
"We consider them biased and unfounded. In fact, we resolutely reject them,"
he said.
Saturday's announcement came as Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, attended
the Munich Security Conference in Germany. She said she had been "certain from
the first day" that her husband had been poisoned, "but now there is proof."
"Putin killed Alexei with a chemical weapon," she wrote on social media,
describing the Russian leader as "a murderer" who "must be held accountable."
Navalny was the target of an earlier poisoning in 2020, with a nerve agent
in an attack he blamed on the Kremlin, which always denied involvement. His
family and allies fought to have him flown to Germany for treatment and
recovery. Five months later, he returned to Russia, where he was immediately
arrested and imprisoned for the last three years of his life.
Russia's opposition is struggling to start a new chapter
Navalny's closest allies, as well as other key members of Russia's
opposition, now continue their fight from exile.
Many have been handed lengthy prison sentences in absentia in Russia and are
unable to return home. Some have been designated "terrorists and extremists" by
the authorities, a designation that was also applied to Navalny in January 2022.
Yet Russia's opposition has failed to form a united front and a clear plan
of action against the Kremlin. Instead, rival groups have traded accusations
that some see as efforts to discredit each other and vie for influence.
In one small victory for opposition activists, Europe's leading human rights
body, PACE, announced in late January the creation of a new body -- the
Platform for Dialogue with Russian Democratic Forces -- tasked with giving
opposition Russians a voice and a formal platform to engage European lawmakers.
It has been heralded as a victory for anti-war Russians, but also attracted
criticism as the body was not elected democratically. Members of Navalny's
anti-corruption organization are also absent from the group
In a statement to mark Navalny's death, Russian members of the Council of
Europe's human rights body, PACE, said that Navalny's death was "an inevitable
link in a chain of systemic crimes by the Kremlin regime against its own
citizens and the citizens of foreign states."
"Alexei Navalny gave his life for a free Russia," the statement said. "We
are obliged to ensure that his death was not in vain."
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