WASHINGTON — Following reports of Alexei Navalny’s death in prison, Helsinki Commission Chairman Representative Joe Wilson (SC-02) and Ranking Member Steve Cohen (TN-09) issued the following joint statement:
“Alexei Navalny dedicated his life to seeing Russia free and at peace. Despite every cruel obstacle Putin placed in his way, even a near-fatal poisoning, he did not waver in his condemnation of the corruption and violence of Putin’s regime, including repressions within Russia and, most brutally, in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“Make no mistake—whatever the claims of Russian authorities or the exact cause of his death, Alexei Navalny was murdered. His imprisonment in inhumane conditions was a result of his political opposition and a tyrant’s desperate need to protect his own power at any cost.
“Alexei Navalny had many friends and colleagues who are now in prisons across Russia, or who had to flee Russia to protect themselves and their families but still face the threat of Putin’s transnational repression. He would not want us to forget them in this moment, nor to give up on the hope that someday, Russia will be free.
“We offer our sincere condolences to Navalny’s family, his friends, and to all those inspired by his dedication to his country.”
Years of anti-corruption work and political challenges to Putin made Navalny a prime target for harassment and assassination attempts by the regime. After being poisoned by Russian security services with Novichok nerve agent in 2020, he recovered in Berlin and returned to Russia in January 2021. He was immediately arrested and in the coming years convicted of various crimes in sham trials. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison for extremism in August 2023.
Navalny spent much of his time in prison in solitary confinement with increasingly limited access to the outside world and suffering from various health problems related to his abysmal conditions. He had recently been moved to a notorious high-security prison in north-central Siberia.
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