Navalny’s mother is demanding justice
- Navalny’s mother demands that those responsible for her son’s poisoning be punished.
- Five European countries claim he was poisoned by epibatidine.
- Russia categorically rejects and disagrees with all these accusations.
- Dozens of people, including diplomats, came to Navalny’s grave.
- Russian authorities have labeled Navalny’s organization as extremist.
On Monday, the mother of the poor Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny praised the opinion of five European countries, which declared over the weekend that her son was poisoned in prison two years ago. According to her, the persons responsible for this act should be punished, writes TASR according to the report of the AFP agency.
Navalny died in a Russian prison under unclear circumstances on February 16, 2024 while serving a 19-year sentence.
Accusation of poisoning
The foreign ministries of Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden and France issued a joint statement on Saturday saying Navalny was allegedly poisoned with epibatidine, a toxin extracted from the skin of a poisonous arrow frog living in Ecuador. This conclusion is based on the analysis of biological samples taken from Navalny’s body.
“It confirms what we knew from the very beginning. We knew that our son didn’t just die in prison, he was murdered,” Navalny’s mother told reporters.
Russia rejects these accusations
“I think it will take some time, but we will find out who did it. Of course we want this to happen in our country and we want justice to prevail,” she added.
Russia denied these accusations already on Saturday. The spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Marija Zakharova, described them to the TASS agency as a “disinformation campaign by the West.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated this position on Monday. “Of course, we do not accept these accusations. We do not agree with them. We consider them biased and unfounded,” he declared.
A memorial at the grave
According to an AFP reporter, on Monday morning dozens of people, including foreign diplomats, visited Navalny’s grave at Borisovsky Cemetery in Moscow. Some of them had their faces covered with masks or scarves.
Russian authorities labeled Navalny and his organization “extremists” even before his death, and anyone mentioning his name or his exiled anti-corruption foundation could be prosecuted, AFP noted.
