The UK government says it has summoned Russian diplomats “to make clear that we hold the Russian authorities fully responsible” for the killing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
Russian officials confirmed on Friday that the 47-year-old died in an Arctic jail, a month before an election that is expected to extend President Vladimir Putin’s grasp on power.
Alexei Navalny dedicated his life to exposing the corruption of the Russian system, calling for free and open politics, and holding the Kremlin to account,” the spokesperson said.
Foreign minister David Cameron on Saturday warned of “consequences” over Navalny’s death.
“Reflecting overnight makes you think what an incredibly brave man this was. His life revealed so much about the true nature of Putin’s ghastly regime and his death has revealed that all over again,” he told broadcasters at the Munich Security Conference.
“There should be consequences. When appalling human rights outrages like this take place, what we do is we look at whether there are individual people that are responsible and whether there are individual measures and actions we can take.
“I am clear that we will be taking action and I would urge others do to the same,” he added.
Supporters of Navalny turned out across Europe and in the United States on Friday evening to pay tribute to the man widely acknowledged as Russia’s main opposition figure, even when he was behind bars.
In London, dozens of people gathered in front of the Russian embassy carrying signs in English and Russian saying: “Stop Putin”, “Assassins” and “We are Navalny”.
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