Alexei Navalny latest: UK first country to issue sanctions over ‘brutal’ killing of Putin critic in prison

The details of Alexei Navalny’s death remain unclear. His wife, Yulia Navalnaya, says that he was poisoned

Related: Alexei Navalny’s mother demands Vladimir Putin returns her son’s body

The UK has frozen the assets of six Russian prison bosses in charge of the Arctic penal colony where opposition leader Alexei Navalny died.

Western leaders say the blame for Mr Navalny’s death lies with the Russian authorities, including Vladimir Putin. Yulia Navalnaya, Mr Navalny’s wife, has said she believes her husband was poisoned with Novichok.

“Those responsible for Navalny’s brutal treatment should be under no illusion - we will hold them accountable,” UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said.

The UK is the first country to impose sanctions in response to his death, the Foreign Office said.

It comes as the Salekhard City Court, the city in which Mr Navalny’s body was supposedly transferred after his death, said it will consider the demand of his mother to have his body returned on 4 March.

Elsewhere, Vladimir Osechkin, founder of the human rights group Gulag.net claimed to The Times that he believed the Russian authorities kept Mr Navalny’s body out in the cold for hours before killing him, potentially with one punch to the heart. Claiming that former prisoners from the Arctic region had previously told of such deaths. The details of Mr Navalny’s death are still unclear.

Key points

• Cameron to set out consequences for Russia over Navalny's death
• Lyudmila Navalnaya urges Vladimir Putin to return her son’s body
• Kremlin opens new criminal case against Alexei Navalny’s brother Oleg
• X briefly suspends Yulia Navalnaya’s account

[21 February 2024 17:26 · Holly Evans]

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[21 February 2024 17:00 · Holly Evans]

Tens of thousands demand Russian authorities release Navalny’s body

More than 75,000 people have sent letters to the Russian investigative committee demanding that Alexei Navalny’s body is returned to his family, according to a human rights group.

Mr Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, 69, demanded the return of her son’s body yesterday, making a direct plea to Vladimir Putin outside the “Polar Wolf” penal colony where the Russian opposition figure was killed.

Tens of thousands have written to demand Navalny’s body is returned to his family (AP)

But Russia’s investigative committee have said they plan to hold his body for two weeks to carry out examinations into his death. Mr Navalny’s wife has said the investigators are using this time to cover the traces of their alleged murder by Novichok poisoning.

Russian human rights group OVD-Info said it has recorded 76, 207 letters sent to the investigators committee calling for Mr Navalny’s release.

[21 February 2024 16:30 · Holly Evans]

Navalny issued chilling warning about second Trump term in final letters from prison

Alexei Navalny issued a chilling warning about what a second presidential term for Donald Trump could mean in one of his final letters before he died in an Arctic prison last week.

The New York Times, which has collected together some of the late Russian dissident’s correspondence from jail, Navalny worked hard to stay in touch with global politics from his cell at the “Polar Wolf” penal colony, around 1,000 miles northeast of Moscow.

The staunch opponent of Vladmir Putin also read voraciously from Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Chekhov and Solzhenitsyn to occupy his mind and prevent himself from sinking into despair amid the brutal conditions in which he was held.

Read the full article here:

[21 February 2024 16:00 · Holly Evans]

White House to hit Russia with ‘major sanctions’ in response to Navalny’s death

The White House has announced that a new package of sanctions against Russia is set to go into effect following the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a Siberian prison camp.

The administration said the package would be released on Friday. This comes after President Joe Biden’s comments to reporters on Monday that he was considering new sanctions.

“We already have sanctions, but we are considering additional sanctions, yes,” he said.

Read the full article here

[21 February 2024 15:30 · Holly Evans]

Trump says his $355m fraud penalty is ‘a form of Navalny’

Donald Trump has said that being hit with a $350m judgement following his recent high profile fraud case was “a form of Navalny,” in reference to the jailing and apparent murder of the late Russian dissident.

The former president said that the ruling by New York judge Arthur Engoron – who he described as a “nut job” – was “a form of communism or fascism”.

On Friday, Judge Engoron found that Mr Trump, his sons, their Trump Organization associates and Trump properties were liable for tens of millions of dollars after defraudng banks and investors as part of a decade-long scheme to secure favourable financing terms for some of his brand-building properties.

Read the full article here:

[21 February 2024 14:50 · Holly Evans]

Watch: Julian Assange’s wife appears to compare WikiLeaks founder to Alexei Navalny

[21 February 2024 14:14 · Holly Evans]

Romanian foreign ministry summons Russian ambassador over Navalny's death

The Romanian foreign ministry summoned the Russian ambassador over the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, it said on Wednesday.

The ministry underlined the need for a transparent, independent investigation of Navalny’s death, and said Russian authorities had a moral obligation to return his body to his family, it said in a statement.

[21 February 2024 13:30 · Tom Watling]

Alexei Navalny's mother files lawsuit with a Russian court demanding release of her son's body

The mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has filed a lawsuit at a court in the Arctic city of Salekhard contesting officials’ refusal to release her son’s body

[21 February 2024 13:00 · Tom Watling]

Britain sanctions leaders of ‘Polar Wolf’ prison camp where Alexei Navalny died

Britain has sanctioned the leaders of the “Polar Wolf” prison camp in Russia where opposition leader Alexei Navalny died.

Days after Mr Navalny’s death, the UK imposed travel bans and asset freezes on six individuals heading up the notoriously brutal FKU IK-3 prison camp.

Britain is the first country to impose measures in response to the politician’s death, which has been widely blamed on the Kremlin by western countries.

[21 February 2024 12:40 · Tom Watling]

Sunak says government ‘considering all options for Putin’ after Alexei Navalny’s death

Rishi Sunak has confirmed the UK and its allies are “considering all options” to hold Russia and Vladimir Putin to account after the death of Alexei Navalny.

He made the comments during a session of Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday 21 February.

“[Navalny] died for a cause to which he dedicated his whole life - freedom,” Mr Sunak said, calling his decision to return to Russia “one of the most courageous acts of our time”.

Sir Keir Starmer also paid tribute to Navalny and shared his “disgust” over the 47-year-old’s death.