The British Foreign Secretary has said on Friday that Vladimir Putin must be held “accountable” for the murder of Alexei Navalny who died in a maximum security prison near to the Arctic Circle.
Lord David Cameron said that must be “consequences” for the Russian leader and the “dreadful nature of Putin’s regime in Russia.”
A statement from Russian officials states, “On February 16, 2024, in correctional colony No 3, convict A A Navalny felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness.
“The institution’s medical workers immediately arrived and an emergency medical team was called.
“All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, but they did not yield positive results.”
They added, “Emergency medical doctors confirmed the death of the convict.”
Navalny’s chief of staff, Leonid Volkov said that the statement from the prison service could be a “confession that they killed” him in prison.
Volkov said “we do not have any way to confirm it or to prove this isn’t’ true,” he added that Navalny’s lawyer is on the way to the Harp.
Speaking to broadcasters as he attends the Munich Security Conference on Friday, Lord Cameron said: “Alexei Navalny was an incredibly brave fighter against corruption and he gave up everything in campaigning for what he believed in, and my heart goes out to his wife and to his family.
“We should hold Putin accountable for this, and no-one should be in any doubt about the dreadful nature of Putin’s regime in Russia after what has just happened.”
Lord Cameron was asked if there should be any consequences for Putin, he said, “There should be consequences because there’s no doubt in my mind that this man was a brave fighter against corruption, for justice, for democracy, and look what Putin’s Russia did to him.
“They trumped up charges, they imprisoned him, they poisoned him, they sent him to an Arctic penal colony, and he’s died, and that is because of the action that Putin’s Russia took.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Navalny was “the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy” who has “demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life.”
Sunak added, “My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said, “Putin’s despicable methods might be to kill his enemies, but he will never kill the light of freedom and democracy which Navalny has stood for so courageously.”
