Yulia Navalnaya, wife of Russian politician Alexey Navalny, after the report about his death in the colony, accused Russian dictator Vladimir Putin of murdering her husband.
Message from Yulia Navalnaya
She published a video on Alexei Navalny’s YouTube channel with her appeal, in which she promised to continue the work of her late husband and called on Russians to unite around her to fight for a free Russia without Putin.
— I will continue the work of Alexei Navalny… I want to live in a free Russia, I want to build a free Russia, — Navalnaya said in the nine-minute video.
A 47-year-old woman has accused Russian authorities of killing her husband, hiding his body and waiting for traces of the Novichok nerve agent to disappear from him.
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— I shouldn't have been in this place, I shouldn't have recorded this video. There should have been another person in my place. But this man was killed by Vladimir Putin, — Navalnaya said.
According to her, she knows why Putin killed Alexei Navalny and promised to tell it “soon”. The woman said that in a colony in the far north of Russia “Putin took Navalny” not only for her, but also for the Russians, wanting to kill with him hopes for another Russia and its future.
She said that everyone will definitely find out who exactly and how exactly committed the crime. Navalnaya promised to name names and show faces. She added that Alexey Navalny was ready to give his life for Russia, so he returned.
— I address you with the words of Alexey, in which I really believe: “It’s not a shame to do little, it’s a shame — do nothing, shame — let yourself be intimidated. We need to use every opportunity to fight against war, against corruption, against injustice, to fight for fair elections and freedom of speech, to fight to take back our country, — Navalnaya said.
In her address, she never mentioned Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, only once did she mention the war, calling on her supporters to “share her rage”.
Yulia Navalnaya avoided publicity for many years, rarely giving interviews to the media. The Guardian writes that many in Russia and beyond will see a woman as the next leader of the Russian opposition, noting that Navalny's death has stunned and demoralized Russian oppositionists.
What is known about Navalny's death
On February 16, Russia reported the death of politician Alexei Navalny in correctional colony No. 3 in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
February 17, the politician's press secretary Kira Yarmysh said that the Investigative Committee refused to release Navalny's body to relatives until the check was completed.
According to the coordinator for criminal cases of the human rights project OVD-Info, Eva Levenberg, the verification can take up to 30 days. Navalny's wife Yulia said in a video message on February 19 that Putin killed the politician.
Screenshot: video Alexey Navalny
