© AFP
In a resolution on Thursday, the European Parliament placed full responsibility for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny on the Russian state and President Vladimir Putin. He must be “held accountable,” the hemisphere believes.
“The Russian government and Vladimir Putin personally bear criminal and political responsibility for the death of their strongest opponent, Alexei Navalny,” said the resolution, which was adopted by a wall-to-wall majority of 506 to 9 with 32 abstentions. MEPs demand an independent and transparent investigation into the circumstances of his death.
For Parliament, the death of Alexei Navalny is an additional sign of the increasing and systematic repression in Russia. The resolution calls for the release of all political prisoners. Three of Navalny’s lawyers, for example, have been detained there since October for “extremism,” the opposition leader’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, recalled in the hemisphere on Wednesday.
Support opposition
The parliamentarians stressed that the “autocratic and kleptocratic regime of the Kremlin” should not be confused with the Russian people and called for support for the democratic opposition in the country. They ask Member States to explore concrete ways to free prisoners, including a possible prisoner exchange.
Although his death was announced on February 16, Navalny’s body was only handed over to his mother eight days later. The funeral will take place in Moscow on Friday. Navalny’s widow expressed fear in the hemisphere that security forces will arrest people who want to attend the ceremony. Parliament calls on the Kremlin not to hinder the family’s efforts “to organize a dignified funeral.”
