Amid reports that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died Friday while serving out a sentence at a penal colony in his home country, President Joe Biden placed the blame squarely on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Reports of his death, if they’re true — and I have no reason to believe that they’re not — Russian officials are going to tell their own story,” Biden said. “Make no mistake — Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death.”
He added, “What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled — not in Russia, not at home, not anywhere in the world.”
President Biden on death of Alexei Navalny: "I'm literally both not surprised and outraged by the news....make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny's death." pic.twitter.com/50qOmZCz6s
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 16, 2024
Russia’s prison agency announced that Navalny, 47, died Friday while serving a 19-year sentence in the Arctic penal colony, The Associated Press reported.
While speaking Friday at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Vice President Kamala Harris said U.S. officials were “working to confirm” the report, which she called “terrible news.”
“This is, of course, terrible news, which we are working to confirm,” she said. “My prayers are with his family, including his wife, Yulia, who is with us today,” she said.
The vice president added that if Navalny’s death is confirmed, it would be “a further sign of Putin’s brutality.”
“Whatever story they tell, let us be clear that Russia is responsible,” she said.
Harris met with Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, on the margins of the conference, according to White House officials. Other lawmakers attending the event also shared condolences for her.
A spokesperson for Navalny said Friday that reports of his death are “most likely true,” CNN reported.
“We do not have any verification, so we can not officially confirm or deny statements by all the Kremlin agencies that Alexey Navalny is dead,” spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said on a livestream, according to the news network. “But really, we all understand full well that if (Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry) Peskov is commenting and Putin and the rest — this cannot be an accident or a mistake.”
Russian officials said that Navalny collapsed and died after taking a walk at the penal colony known as “Polar Wolf,” according to Reuters. His reported death leaves the country with no opposition leader who holds a profile as high as Navalny’s had been.
For years, Navalny has served as the leading critic of Putin and his political party, United Russia, The Guardian reported. He endured repeated arrests, attacks and threats on his life, including in 2017, when he lost most of the sight in one of his eyes due to an attack with a chemical agent, and in 2020, when he was poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent, according to the newspaper.
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