Asia-Pacific** Yuan Jiajing.
On the 16th local time, the Russian prison administration said that Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny (Alexey N**Alny) died in prison at the age of 47. Navalny lost consciousness "almost immediately" after "feeling unwell after a walk," the department said. At the moment, the relevant agencies are investigating his "sudden death".
According to RIA Novosti, the hospital in the city of Labytnang told reporters that the ambulance arrived at the prison in less than seven minutes and arrived with the patient two minutes later, "The doctors who arrived at the scene continued to carry out the rescue work that the prison doctors were already carrying out and lasted for more than half an hour." "Unfortunately, the salvage was ineffective.
Navalny's mother, Lyudmila N**alnaya, last saw her son on Feb. 12, four days before his death, when he was "alive, healthy and happy," according to Russia's Novaya newspaper. "I don't want to hear any condolences," she said. ”
Navalny's wife, Yulia N**Alnaya, said at the Munich Security Conference (MSC): "I want them (Putin and those close to him) to know that they will be punished for what they have done to our country, my family and my husband." ”
In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that Putin has been informed of the reports and is currently being determined by doctors the cause of Navalny's death, "As far as we know, the relevant departments are conducting inspections and verifications in accordance with regulations." When asked if "death involved blood clots", he replied: "I don't know, but doctors will find out." ”
The news of Navalny's death in prison caused an uproar in the Western world. U.S. ** Biden called "there is no doubt that Putin is responsible for Navalny's death" and said that this is new strong evidence of Putin's atrocities. In addition, Western dignitaries such as the NATO Secretary General, the Norwegian Governor, and Latvia have expressed their positions on social media, hinting that Navalny was "brutalized" by the Kremlin
According to CNN, in August last year, Navalny was sentenced to 19 years in prison for "building an extremist community, financing extremist activists" and various other crimes. At that time he had already been sentenced to 11 and a half years in prison for fraud and other charges, although he denied the charges. Four months later, his lawyer said they had lost contact with Navalny. After submitting several requests to find Navalny, his team announced on December 25 last year that they learned that Navalny was in the Halp IK-3** battalion. Located about 1,900 kilometers northeast of Moscow and north of the Arctic Circle, the ** battalion is widely regarded as one of the toughest prisons in Russia.
What brought Navalny into the global arena was the 2020 poisoning incident. On a flight from Tomsk, Siberia to Moscow, Navalny became unwell and then traveled to Germany for acceptance**. Stefen Seibert, the spokesman for Germany at the time, said that toxicological tests on samples taken from Navalny at the German laboratory showed that "Navalny was the victim of a Russian chemical nerve agent attack." In this regard, the Kremlin has repeatedly denied anything to do with it.
In 2021, Navalny voluntarily returned to Russia from Germany. Even while in detention, Navalny continued to speak out against Putin**. At his last court appearance on Feb. 8, Navalny urged prison services to "vote against putin," CNN reported. Eight days later, he was pronounced dead by the authorities, a month before Russia's ** elections, scheduled for March 17 this year.
Cheng Xizhong, a distinguished professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law and a special commentator for the Asia-Pacific region, said that there is still a month before Russia is left, and at this sensitive time node, the sudden death of Russian opposition figure Navalny will inevitably add to Russia's complicated factors, and the United States and the West will certainly take advantage of Navalny's death to make a big fuss.
Cheng Xizhong believes that the 48-year-old Navalny was originally a figure in the system and served as a consultant to Russia, but he was guilty of establishing extremist associations, inciting and financing extremist activities and other crimes, so he was sentenced, and this kind of crime that seriously endangers *** will be punished with a heavy sentence in any country. Russia is a mature country with a legal system, Navalny suddenly felt unwell in prison, and then lost consciousness, medical personnel immediately rushed to the scene and carried out all-out rescue, and the relevant authorities immediately launched an investigation into the cause of his death after his sudden death, which is in line with the humanitarian spirit.
In 2020, the United States and the West accused Russia of "using nerve agents against Navalny", and in 2021, the United States and the European Union announced a new round of sanctions against Russia under this pretext. Since the revelations of the Navalny affair, the United States, Poland, Canada and many other Western countries have been putting pressure on Russia to try to "protect" the Russian oppositionist, and the United States and Germany have even demanded immediate and unconditional release. In fact, Navalny is the best person in the United States and the West, and the United States and the West are using him to create trouble for Russia, and trying to use him to develop extreme forces in Russia, and finally overthrow the Putin regime and completely destroy Russia through the "color revolution".
Finally, Cheng Xizhong analyzed that using individual deaths or other events to incite opposition to a certain country is a first-class war strategy that the United States has been very good at since the end of the 19th century. Regarding Navalny's sudden death, the United States and the West expressed "deep sorrow and uneasiness" and exerted strong pressure on Russia. The United States has long threatened that if Navalny dies in prison, Russia will have to bear serious consequences. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz immediately expressed "special sadness" upon learning of the news, while British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it was a "very terrible thing". At the same time, the United States and the West are spreading all kinds of rumors and pointing the finger at Putin, believing that Putin ordered the secret killing of Navalny, trying to take advantage of Navalny's sudden death to set off a new round of war, affect the upcoming Russia, and shake Putin's position to remain in power.
*: APD News, Asia Pacific).