The Party of European Socialists is shocked and saddened by the death of Russia’s opposition leader Alexei Navalny, found dead at age 47 in the Siberian prison where he was being kept. Navalny was a political prisoner and had been targeted by the Russian regime with several chemical attacks, including one that brought him into a coma.
PES President Stefan Löfven said:
“I am deeply saddened to learn about the death of Alexei Navalny, who courageously fought for a democratic Russia that respects the political and human rights of its citizens. I am also angry about the circumstances in which he lived and died because of his courageous fight. The questions about his death today seem inevitable. For years, Alexei Navalny suffered bullying and persecution from Putin’s regime. He never lost heart, as he continued to engage in mobilising civil society against authoritarianism and oppression. Today, Russians that hope for a political change in their country lose a key figure.”
The PES stands with democracy in Russia and against Putin’s tyrannical regime, a threat to Russian people and to global peace, which must be held accountable for its human rights violations.
