Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny’s Wife Gave A Powerful Speech Demanding Justice After His Death
Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of Russia’s main opposition leader Alexei Navalny, delivered a powerful speech at a conference hours after Russian state media reported that her husband had died in prison.
Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of Russia’s main opposition leader Alexei Navalny, delivered a powerful speech at a conference hours after Russian state media reported that her husband had died in prison.
Russian state media announced on Friday, Feb. 16, that 47-year-old Navalny had died after he collapsed and lost consciousness following a morning walk.
Navalny, who is Russian president Vladimir Putin’s biggest critic, had been serving a 19-year sentence in a remote Arctic prison for “promoting extremism”.
A day before, on Thursday, Feb. 15, he had appeared in good health while he appeared in court via video, cracking jokes while presenting arguments defending his position.
“Your honor, I will send you my personal account number so that you can use your huge federal judge’s salary to fuel my personal account, because I am running out of money, and thanks to your decisions, it will run out even faster,” he had joked. “So, send it over.”
Addressing world leaders at a security conference in Munich, Germany, just hours after the news of his alleged death broke, Navalnaya said that she had debated for along time whether she should take to the stage or fly straight home to her children after learning the news.
“But then I thought about what Alexei would do in my place. And I’m sure he’d be here. He’d be on this stage,” she said.
Navalnaya said that she did not know whether to believe the news because all the sources were from the Russian government.
“For years – and you all know this – we can’t believe Putin and Putin’s government. They’re always lying,” she said.
She went on to say that if her husband was really dead, then she wanted Putin and his associates to know that they will be accountable.
“That day will come very soon,” she added.
Navalnaya then went onto call on people around the world to unite together to defeat “the horrific regime that is now in Russia”, adding that Putin and his regime must be personally held responsible for everything they had done to Russia and her family.
Navalny’s mother said in a Facebook post that she had last seen him on Monday, Feb. 12, and that he had been “alive, healthy and happy”, according to Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
Prison authorities said that Navalny had “felt unwell” and collapsed “almost immediately”.
“Medical workers from the institution arrived immediately and an emergency medical team was called. All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, but did not yield positive results,” prison authorities said in a statement. “Emergency doctors confirmed the death of the convict.”
Navalny’s spokesperson said his team has not been able to confirm the information, and that his lawyer is on his way to the penal colony.
