The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has joined western governments across the globe in holding Vladimir Putin responsible for the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Navalny, 47, died while being held in a jail about 65km north of the Arctic Circle, where he had been sentenced to 19 years under a “special regime”.
Albanese told reporters in Newcastle on Saturday that Australia was shocked and saddened by the news.
“We hold Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime responsible for this death in prison,” he said. “Vladimir Putin is an authoritarian, and we have a divide in the world between authoritarian regimes and democracies.”
Albanese said the government needed “to call out the behaviour of authoritarians like Vladimir Putin”.
On X, the prime minister posted that Navalny’s treatment was “unforgivable”.
Australia mourns the tragic death of Alexei Navalny, a courageous force for democracy in Russia. His treatment was unforgivable, and our thoughts are with his family and with the people of Russia.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) February 17, 2024
The Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, told reporters on Saturday that Navalny was inspiring.
“His resistance, his opposition to a repressive regime was inspiring to so many people around the world, and we make clear we hold the Russian government solely responsible for his treatment and his death,” Wong said.
She said there were already many sanctions on the Russian regime but would not say if the Australian government would take further action against the Russian government.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, branded Putin a “murderous dictator”.
“A very brave man tragically died overnight. Alexei Navalny sought to save his country from a murderous dictator,” Dutton said. “He had been poisoned, tortured and wrongly imprisoned. Ultimately he gave his life for a country and people he loved. And his passing should be mourned.”
A very brave man tragically died overnight. Alexei Navalny sought to save his country from a murderous dictator. He had been poisoned, tortured and wrongly imprisoned. Ultimately he gave his life for a country and people he loved. And his passing should be mourned.
— Peter Dutton (@PeterDutton_MP) February 16, 2024
The shadow foreign affairs minister, Simon Birmingham, said on X that Navalny died for his values, his principles and the rights of his fellow Russians.
The Russian government claims Navalny died of natural causes. In a statement, the federal penitentiary service for the region where Navalny was incarcerated said he “felt unwell after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness”.
“All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out but did not yield positive results,” the statement said. “The paramedics confirmed the death of the convict.”
The Kremlin said Putin had been informed but had no further information.
Navalny had expected he could die in jail. He had been held in custody in Russia since returning from Germany in 2021.
Albanese’s comments echo that of other world leaders including the French president, Emmanuel Macron, the UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, the Ukraine president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the US president, Joe Biden.
“He bravely stood up to the corruption, the violence and all the bad things that the Putin government was doing,” Biden said. “In response, Putin had him poisoned, he had him arrested, he had him prosecuted for fabricated crimes, he sentenced him to prison, he held him in isolation … Even in prison he was a powerful voice for the truth.”
The Nationals senator Matt Canavan posted on X that Navalny’s death “is a personal tragedy for his family and a depressing reminder of how many people are not free” but added “it is hard to take seriously the protests of the American government while they hold Julian Assange as an effective political prisoner”.
The death of Alexey Navalny is a personal tragedy for his family and a depressing reminder of how many people are not free.
— Senator Matt Canavan (@mattjcan) February 17, 2024
But it is hard to take seriously the protests of the American Government while they hold Julian Assange as an effective political prisoner.
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