{"id":4353,"date":"2024-03-22T13:47:42","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T13:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/assedel.org\/?p=4353"},"modified":"2024-04-01T12:55:43","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T12:55:43","slug":"the-death-of-alexei-navalny-symbol-of-oppression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/assedel.org\/fr\/the-death-of-alexei-navalny-symbol-of-oppression\/","title":{"rendered":"La mort d\u2019Alexei Navalny: symbole d\u2019une oppression?"},"content":{"rendered":"

On February 16th, Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin\u2019s number one enemy, died in the Arctic penal colony while serving a 19-year sentence for \u201cextremism.\u201d[1]<\/sup>

Alexei Navalny, a Russian lawyer and political activist, made combating corruption a major political goal. In 2007, he joined the Narod (\u201cPeople\u201d) movement and led several protests against the authoritarianism of President Vladimir Putin.

As a key figure in the opposition, along with his wife Yulia Navalnaya, he protested against electoral fraud following the predictable results of the 2012 elections. In the following years, he was the target of several assassination attempts attributed to Russian secret services. Surviving a poisoning attempt with the nerve agent Novichok in January 2021, he became a symbol of resistance and the Russian people\u2019s struggle for freedom and democracy. Navalny was arrested and sentenced to nineteen years in prison[2]<\/sup>. Since his Anti-Corruption Foundation was attracting more and more members unafraid to speak out despite potential repercussions, combined with Navalny\u2019s increasing renown abroad as a beacon of hope for a democratic future for Russia, he began to be seen as a concrete threat to Putin\u2019s authoritarian regime.

In the following years, he would be regularly transferred from one penal colony to another, before meeting his death in December 2023 in Penal Colony No. 3 in the town of Kharp, known as the \u201cPolar Wolf,\u201d renowned for its brutal detention conditions. \u201cDaylight [was] present for less than two hours a day\u201d, wrote X Maria Pevchikh, a Russian journalist and anticorruption activist who fled abroad.[3]<\/sup>

Since his arrest, he has been subjected to treatments considered inhumane and degrading. Independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council have repeatedly called for action to denounce the appalling conditions of Navalny\u2019s detention, which has seen him denied access to adequate medical care even after being transferred to the hospital.[4]<\/sup>
Last August, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker T\u00fcrk, raised concerns about the likely judicial harassment and politicization of the Russian justice system, calling for Navalny\u2019s release. [5]<\/sup>

Mariana Katzarova, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia, expressed her concern in December about Navalny\u2019s disappearance. Alice Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, stated that several independent UN experts, including herself, had urged the Russian government to end the deplorable conditions in which Navalny was being held.[6]<\/sup>

The announcement of the dissident\u2019s death by Russian authorities sparked a wave of outrage, moving the international community. An investigation into the reasons for Navalny\u2019s death and a demand for the immediate release of all political detainees in Russia were demanded. The Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament accuses Vladimir Putin of being responsible for the death of his political opponent.[7]<\/sup>

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the Russian activist, recently addressed the European Parliament. In her speech, she accused the Russian authorities of orchestrating Navalny\u2019s murder at the request of the Russian president.

Regarding Vladimir Putin, she reportedly said: \u201c[\u2026] You are not dealing with a politician but with a thug with blood on his hands [\u2026]\u201d. She continued by stating that in this case, being politically innovative meant fighting organized crime rather than political competition. [8]

<\/sup>At present, Yulia Navalnaya is determined to continue her husband\u2019s fight. On Sunday, March 17, during the Russian presidential elections, she protested, urging voters to cast their ballots with the slogan \u201cNoon against Putin\u201d.[9]<\/sup>

Peu avant son arrestation, Navalny confia au d\u00e9put\u00e9 de l\u2019Assembl\u00e9e parlementaire du Conseil de l\u2019Europe : J.Maire, la mani\u00e8re dont le FSB le traqua pendant 4 ans afin de l\u2019empoisonner. Ce modus operandi rappelle les purges staliniennes ne laissant pas \u00e0 l\u2019abri les dissidents les plus \u00e9loign\u00e9s (l\u2019assassinat de Trotsky au Mexique par un agent du KGB).

Il fut demand\u00e9 \u00e0 Navalny le pourquoi du recours \u00e0 l\u2019empoisonnement comme m\u00e9thode d\u2019assasinat politique. Ce dernier affirma que l\u2019empoisonnement sert d\u2019instrument pour semer la terreur, \u00e9tant un avertissement pour tous ceux qui s\u2019opposent au r\u00e9gime poutinien. [10][10]<\/sup>

Despite opposition to the Russian president both within Russia and abroad, the path towards the \u201cBeautiful Russia for the future\u201d desired by Alexei Navalny remains uncertain, as shown by the results of the recent presidential elections on March 15th and 17th. Indeed, Vladimir Putin was elected with over 87% of the vote.[11]<\/sup>

ASSEDEL takes a stance against any form of persecution of political dissent, seen as an expression of political pluralism, a cardinal principle of the rule of law. ASSEDEL demands that independent investigations be carried out under the control of international institutions to shed light on the circumstances of Alexei Navalny\u2019s death, and that any political prisoner or citizen who participated in protests be immediately and unconditionally released. Lastly, ASSEDEL supports any actor advocating for human rights on Russian soil, whether they be NGOs, press organizations, international bodies, activists and dissidents, or politically engaged individuals addressing this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fiammetta Bosso<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]L\u2019Express (2024) \u201cNavalny\u00a0: les trois questions qui se posent apr\u00e8s la mort en prison de l\u2019ennemi num\u00e9ro 1 de Poutine\u201d<\/a>
[2] Enciclopedia Treccani \u201cNavalny, Aleksei\u201d <\/a>
[4] ONU Info (2021) \u201cRussie: des experts de l\u2019ONU estiment que l\u2019opposant Navalny est en grave danger et appellent \u00e0 une \u00e9vacuation m\u00e9dicale\u201d<\/a>
[5] ONU Actualit\u00e9s (2024) \u201cD\u00e9c\u00e8s de l\u2019opposant russe Alexe\u00ef Navalny\u201d <\/a>
[6] UN News (2024) \u201cRussia\u00a0: UN human rights office \u2018appalled\u2019 at death of Navalny in prison\u201d\u00a0 <\/a>
[7] Actualit\u00e9 Parlement europ\u00e9en (2024) \u201cStatement by the conference of Presidents on the death of Alexei Navalny\u201d<\/a>\u00a0
[8] Actualit\u00e9 Parlement europ\u00e9en (2024) \u201cIoulia Navalnaia\u00a0: \u2018Si vous voulez vaincre Poutine, combattez son r\u00e9seau criminel\u201d <\/a>
[9] The Guardian \u201cA farce, not an election: Russians abroad join \u2018Noon against Putin\u2019 protest\u201d (2024) <\/a>
[10] News PACE (2024) \u201cPosthumous video shown of Alexei Navalny, speaking to PACE rapporteur Jacques Maire in 2020\u201d<\/a>
[11] Le Monde (2024) \u201cEn direct, pr\u00e9sidentielle en Russie\u00a0: le\u00a0Kremlin salue le\u00a0r\u00e9sultat \u00ab\u00a0exceptionnel\u00a0\u00bb de Poutine, la\u00a0France dit \u00ab\u00a0prendre acte\u00a0\u00bb de\u00a0cette r\u00e9\u00e9lection \u00ab\u00a0dans le\u00a0contexte d\u2019une r\u00e9pression accrue\u00a0de\u00a0la\u00a0soci\u00e9t\u00e9 civile\u201d<\/a> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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