The Kremlin said Monday that it “strongly rejected” an assessment by five European countries that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died from poisoning two years ago, as his supporters marked the anniversary of his death in prison.
Navalny, a charismatic anti-corruption campaigner who rallied hundreds of thousands to the streets in protest at the Russian leadership, was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest domestic opponent for years.
He died in an Arctic prison colony in February 2024 while serving a 19-year sentence for “extremism”, a charge that he and his supporters say was punishment for his opposition work.
Britain, Sweden, France, Germany and the Netherlands issued a joint statement on Saturday saying they believed he had been poisoned with epibatidine — a toxin found in poison dart frogs — and that the Russian state had the “means, motive and opportunity” to administer it.
“We naturally do not accept such accusations. We disagree with them. We consider them biased and baseless,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, including AFP, during a daily briefing call.
“In fact, we strongly reject them,” he added.
Dozens of people visited his grave in Moscow early Monday, among them foreign diplomats, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.
Some of those who attended wore masks or scarves over their faces.
Russian authorities designated Navalny and his organisation “extremist” before his death, and anyone who mentions him or his exiled anti-corruption foundation are liable for prosecution.
Navalny, a Yale-educated lawyer, was the most widely known Russian opposition figure and galvanised thousands of young people to protest against Putin.
Source: Insider Paper
