As his supporters commemorated two years since his death in prison, the mother of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Monday that she felt validated by a European judgment that her son died of poisoning and demanded “justice.”
In February 2024, Navalny, the most ardent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin at home, passed away in an Arctic prison colony after serving a 19-year sentence.
In a joint statement released on Saturday, Britain, Sweden, France, Germany, and the Netherlands expressed their belief that he had been poisoned with the toxin epibatidine, which is present in poison dart frogs.
According to the statement, samples retrieved from his body served as the basis for their evaluation.
“This validates our first understanding. The mother of Navalny, Lyudmila Navalnaya, told reporters, including AFP, outside the Moscow cemetery where her son was laid to rest, “We knew that our son did not simply die in prison, he was murdered.”
“I believe we will identify the perpetrator, but it will take some time. Naturally, we want justice to be served and this to occur in our nation,” she continued.
Although the Kremlin has always denied any role in his killing, it has not yet responded to the European declaration.
An AFP reporter on the scene reported that dozens of people, including international officials, visited his tomb early Monday.
Some attendees covered their faces with scarves or masks.
Before he passed away, Russian authorities labeled Navalny and his group as “extremists,” and anyone who brings up him or his banned anti-corruption organization could face legal action.
