‘Horrified’: Maltese Politicians React To The Death Of Navalny, Russia’s Imprisoned Opposition Leader
As the death of Alexei Navalny continues to send shockwaves across the world, a number of Maltese politicians have started reacting to the shocking turn of events.
“The world has lost a fighter whose courage will echo through generations,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola wrote on social media. “Horrified by the death of Sakharov Prize laureate Alexei Navalny. Russia took his freedom and his life, but not his dignity. His struggle for democracy lives on.”
Malta’s own Opposition Leader Bernard Grech, meanwhile, said he was “deeply saddened by the tragic news”, saying Navalny’s “fight for democracy and transparency will not be forgotten”.
“Putin has finally rid himself of Alexi Navalny, a stubborn thorn in the thigh of a dictator,” MEP David Casa wrote. “But he will remain haunted by his regime’s crimes in Ukraine and the repression of his own population. Navalny is immortalised in the continued efforts to fight Putin’s brutal regime.”
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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critic (and opposition politician) Alexei Navalny’s death was announced by the prison he was sentenced to.
“On 16.02.24 in the correctional colony number three, convict Navalny felt ill after a walk almost immediately losing consciousness,” Federal Penitentiary Service for Yamal said in a statement. “Medical workers of the institution arrived immediately, ambulance team were called. All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out which did not give a positive result. Ambulance, doctors stated death of the convict.”
Last December, Navalny was reported missing from the IK-6 penal colony east of Moscow. Navalny was sentenced to over 30 years in prison on charges he vehemently denies, saying that they’re an attempt by the Kremlin to silence his sharp criticism of Putin.
Around the same time, the chair of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation had written that Navalny was suffering a serious health-related incident last week where his “life was at risk”. In fact, Yarmysh said prison staff had put him on a drip after he suffered a dizzy spell that looked like a hunger faint.
In January, Navalny – who was sentenced to stay in prison until he turned 74 years old – said he was forced to listen to the Russian national anthem every single morning before being played “I am Russian,” a patriotic song performed by a pro-Putin singer called “Shaman”.
This is a developing story.
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