Alexey Navalny's death is the latest: Family demands return of Putin critic's 'mutilated body found in morgue'

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen spoke yesterday about the death of Alexei Navalny, Russia's war in Ukraine and the crisis in Gaza and the Red Sea, a Downing Street spokesman said.

“The Prime Minister and President van der Leyen expressed their outrage at the death of Alexei Navalny and underscored the utmost importance of holding those responsible within the Russian establishment to account,” the spokesman said in a statement.

The Kremlin may hope his death will act as a deterrent to those playing with opposition activism, but in reality it makes the staunch critic of the Russian president a hero and a martyr, he writes. Mary Tejewski.

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Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney has warned of a “Putin faction” in the Republican Party after Donald Trump failed to criticize Russia following the death of Alexei Navalny.

“We have to take seriously that you now have the Putin-wing of the Republican Party,” he told CNN. State of the Union program.

“I hope the issue this election cycle confirms is that the Putin-wing of the Republican Party will not take over the West Side of the White House,” he added.

The former president has so far avoided any meaningful comment on the death of Mr Navalny, whose allies say he was killed by the Russian state.

Mr Trump has vowed on social media to “bring peace, prosperity and stability” only if he is given another term in the White House.

Nikki Haley, Mr Trump's rival for the Republican nomination for president, has been criticized for not taking a tougher approach with the Kremlin.

“Either he's teamed up with Putin and thinks it's nice that Putin killed one of his political enemies — or he doesn't think it's that big of a deal,” Ms. Haley told ABC News. This week.

“One of them is involved. Any of them is a problem.”

The director of the Oscar-winning Navalny documentary has said she was “not happy or surprised” as Alexei Navalny's wife addressed world leaders in Germany hours after her husband's death was announced.

Daniel Rohr, a Canadian, became close to the Navalny family when he interviewed them before the Russian opposition leader was sent to prison in 2021, and remains in constant contact with them.

The documentary maker told the PA news agency: “Yulia Navalnaya's () strength is well documented, we see it in her elegance (and) grace, as the first lady-in-waiting eases herself.

“I was delighted and not surprised when I saw her … take that stage, for a very commanding two-minute speech, and for a brief moment, she was the moral center of the universe.

“I don't know how the system and Yulia's political system will change in the next two weeks and months, but I do know that the family is emotional, active, and now in the mood for revenge.”

He said he had no reason to be “surprised” by Navalny's death, but was “shocked” to hear the news. “Anyone who has followed the Navalny story or seen the documentary knows how long this opportunity has taken, but beyond that, I register it as shock,” Mr Rohr added.

It seems no coincidence that Navalny lost his life at the same time world leaders were meeting at the Munich Security Conference.

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But his death is the latest in a long line of Vladimir Putins who have been jailed, silenced or met brutal ends over the years. Poisoning, mysterious falls from windows and plane crashes seem to have targeted many of the Russian president's enemies.