image source, Getty Images
The US and UK ambassadors in Moscow laid flowers in memory of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison on Friday.
US Ambassador Lynn Treacy and Britain's Nigel Casey were photographed paying their respects at a memorial in Moscow.
Navalny's supporters believe he was killed on the orders of President Vladimir Putin. Prison authorities said he was suffering from “sudden death syndrome.”
Approximately 400 Russians were detained at the activist rally.
Photos show a growing pile of flowers left for Navalny at the Solovetsky Monument, a monument to political repression and a major site of memorialization for the 47-year-old. It was in the picture.
The embassy added: “We express our deepest condolences to the family, colleagues and supporters of Alexei Navalny. His strength is an inspiring example. We honor his memory.” .
image source, British Embassy Moscow/X
British Ambassador Nigel Casey paid tribute to Alexei Navalny on Saturday
They said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had summoned representatives of the Russian embassy, ​​adding: “We make it clear that the Russian authorities are fully responsible for Alexei's death.”
She had previously called on the Russian president and his allies to be held accountable for her husband's death.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell confirmed to X that Navalnaya would be welcomed to the EU's Foreign Affairs Council on Monday.
He said EU ministers would honor Navalny's memory and “send a strong message of support to Russia's freedom fighters.”
Questions remain about the whereabouts of Navalny's body, with allies accusing Russian authorities of hiding it as tributes pour in for Kremlin critics.
Russian prison authorities said Friday that the rebel fell ill and lost consciousness after a walk at the remote IK-3 prison in the Arctic Circle, also known as Siberia's “Arctic Wolf” penal colony.
A memorial message for Navalny has been placed outside the Russian embassy in the German capital Berlin.
Navalny's supporters say his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, was told that the body would only be released after a post-mortem examination was completed, and that the cause of death was “sudden death syndrome” (a general and vague term). It is said that there is. If the condition covers cardiac arrest without an obvious cause.
Navalny's supporters said they were told his body was taken to the town of Salekhard, near the prison, but the morgue was closed when he arrived.
Prison officials reportedly told her that the first post-mortem examination was inconclusive and a second autopsy would need to be carried out.
The Russian president has not publicly commented on Navalny's death, but said shortly afterwards that the Kremlin was aware and had been informed.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said it rejected the “biased and unrealistic” assessment of the cause of his death made in a meeting with British officials on Saturday.
