European Parliament resolution blames Putin for Navalny's murder
The European Parliament on Navalny
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the murder of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
The resolution was supported by 506 MEPs, nine voted against, and another 32 abstained.
The text of the document states that Navalny was killed, and the Russian authorities and personally the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, bear responsibility for his murder.
“The Russian government and personally Vladimir Putin bear criminal and political responsibility for the murder of their main opponent, Alexei Navalny, and under such circumstances, there are grounds to question the legitimacy of Vladimir Putin,” the resolution states.
According to the MEPs, Navalny’s death is another sign of increasing and systematic repression in Russia.
The Parliament also demands an independent and transparent international investigation into his murder, as well as the release of hundreds of detainees who peacefully paid tribute to Navalny.
In the document, the European Parliament stated that the Russian people should not be confused with “the autocratic and kleptocratic regime of the Kremlin.”
The resolution also calls on EU member states to continue negotiations with Russia to release prisoners, particularly those convicted on political charges, and to continue political, economic, financial, and military support for Ukraine.
It should be reminded that on February 16, the Federal penitentiary service’s office for the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous district reported that politician Alexei Navalny had died in the “Polar Wolf” colony. The opposition leader’s body was held for more than a week.
The Investigative committee gave the politician’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, an ultimatum: either she agrees to a secret funeral without a public farewell, or Alexei would be buried in the colony. She refused to comply with these demands.
On February 24, Navalny’s body was released to his mother. The funeral service for Russian politician Alexei Navalny was held at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Soothe My Sorrows” in Maryino on March 1 at 2:00 PM.
Earlier, the head of the board of directors of the international Anti-Corruption Foundation, Maria Pevchikh, stated that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny “was killed” in the colony to prevent his exchange for the alleged Russian intelligence operative Vadim Krasikov. Vadim Krasikov is serving a life sentence in Germany for the murder of former Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili.
According to Pevchikh, on the evening of February 15, she received confirmation that negotiations on exchanging Krasikov for Navalny and two US citizens were in the final stage. On February 16, the FSIN announced Navalny’s death. In Pevchikh’s opinion, Russian president Vladimir Putin did not want to see Navalny free and got rid of him to exchange Krasikov for someone else.
