More than 40 countries on Monday demanded an independent international investigation into the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny — and said President Vladimir Putin bore ultimate responsibility.
European Union members, the United States, Britain, Ukraine, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway were among countries to voice outrage over Navalny’s death at the UN Human Rights Council.
Navalny, 47, who died in an Arctic prison colony, was laid to rest in Moscow on Friday, surrounded by crowds of defiant mourners who chanted his name.
“We are outraged by the death of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, for which the ultimate responsibility lies with President Putin and the Russian authorities,” EU ambassador Lotte Knudsen told the UN rights body on behalf of 43 countries.
“Russia must allow an independent and transparent international investigation into circumstances of his sudden death. “Mr Navalny’s unexpected and shocking death is yet another sign of the accelerating and systematic repression in Russia.”
The countries said they were deeply concerned about the “systematic crackdown on civil society” and the repression of political opposition within Russia and abroad.—AFP
