Their statement came hours after a spokeswoman for Navalny’s team announced that Russian authorities had finally handed over the body of the politician, who died at the Arctic Correctional Facility, to his mother.
“We call on the Russian government to fully investigate the circumstances surrounding his death,” the G-7 said in a statement.
“We also pay tribute to the extraordinary courage of Alexei Navalny and support his wife, children and loved ones,” it added.
“He gave his life fighting against Kremlin corruption and for free and fair elections in Russia.”
Navalny, 47, the most vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, died on February 16 after spending three years behind bars on charges that independent rights groups and Western countries denounced as retaliation for opposition to the Kremlin.
Russian authorities said Mr Navalny died of natural causes after losing consciousness after a walk in a correctional colony nicknamed the “Polar Wolf”.
But his team said investigators kept failing to return his body and for days prevented his mother from even seeing him, fueling accusations that the state were “murderers” trying to “cover their tracks”.
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2024-04-26 11:24:13