(Reuters) – Following are reactions in Russia and abroad to the death of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, reported on Friday by the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence.
KREMLIN SPOKESMAN DMITRY PESKOV
Peskov said President Vladimir Putin has been told about Navalny’s death.
RUSSIA’S INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE
The committee said it has launched a procedural probe into the death.
NAVALNY AIDE LEONID VOLKOV, ON X
Volkov said he was unable to confirm the death, adding Navalny’s lawyer was travelling to the site of the prison where the opposition leader had been serving his sentence.
RUSSIAN NEWSPAPER EDITOR AND NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE DMITRY MURATOV
Speaking to Reuters, Muratov called the death “murder” and said that he believed prison conditions had led to Navalny’s demise.
FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER STEPHANE SEJOURNE, ON X
“Alexei Navalny paid with his life for his resistance to a system of oppression. His death in a penal colony reminds us of the reality of Vladimir Putin’s regime. To his family, his loved ones and the Russian people, France presents its condolences.”
SWEDISH FOREIGN MINISTER TOBIAS BILLSTRÖM, ON X
“Dreadful news about Alexei Navalny… If the report about his death in Russian prison is true it represents another terrible crime by Putin’s regime. The ruthlessness against Navalny shows again why it is necessary to continue to fight against authoritarianism.”
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus, Compiled by Frances Kerry, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
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