Navalny’s death: his wife will meet with EU foreign ministers

Although the circumstances of the death of Alexei Navalny still remain mysterious, Yulia Navalnaya is expected this Monday in Brussels. The wife of Vladimir Putin’s No. 1 opponent will meet with EU foreign ministers three days after her husband died in a Russian prison. “On Monday I will welcome Yulia Navalnaya to the EU Foreign Affairs Council,” European diplomacy chief Josep Borrell confirmed on Sunday evening on X, adding: “EU ministers will send a strong signal of support to freedom fighters in Russia and honor the memory of Alexei Navalny,” he wrote.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, has already supported her opponent’s wife after the announcement of his death.

Yulia Navalnaya, 47, said she held Russian President Vladimir Putin “personally responsible” for his death and called on the international community to unite to defeat “this horrific regime.”

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani estimated that Yulia Navalnaya’s statements “will help all Europeans better understand what type of violent system we must confront and contain in Ukraine.” “This makes us feel a threat that weighs on the citizens of Russia and all regions of our Europe, a continent where violence, cruelty and war have been restored in a shameful and irresponsible manner,” added Antonio Tajani.

Arrests in Russia

This weekend, Russian police arrested hundreds of people in dozens of cities who came to lay flowers and light candles in honor of Alexei Navalny at memorials for victims of Stalin’s repression. In St. Petersburg alone, in the north-west, judges this weekend sentenced 154 of these people to up to 14 days in prison for violating strict laws governing demonstrations, according to decisions released by local court press offices.

Anti-Kremlin protests and other public actions against the regime are illegal in Russia, especially under laws banning unauthorized gatherings. However, US Ambassador to Russia Lynn Tracy said that she gathered on Sunday in front of an impromptu memorial in Moscow, at the Solovetsky Stone, a monument to victims of political repression.

Elsewhere, support and rallies continued in Nalwani. Starting with a concert by singer Bono from the group U2. He spoke for the freedom of the people of Ukraine and against Putin before singing “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and encouraging the crowd to chant Navalny’s name.

Those close to Alexei Navalny on Saturday called Russian authorities “murderers” seeking to “cover their tracks” by refusing to release his body. The Russian opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta claims that Navalny’s body was in an Arctic hospital. According to this information, which could not be independently verified, the bruised body had not yet been autopsied.