Against negotiations

Navalny’s widow: Putin is a “bloody monster”

(Bild: AP)

Yulia Navalny, the widow of Russian Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who died in custody, has given a speech to the EU Parliament. In it, she warned against negotiations with President Vladimir Putin. "You are not dealing with a politician, but with a bloody monster", she declared.

Putin is capable of anything, you cannot negotiate with him, she emphasized in Strasbourg on Wednesday. He can only be defeated with new methods, but not with resolutions or sanctions, she explained, referring to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

Navalny "tortured" for years
Referring to her husband, who died in Russian custody at the age of 47, Navalny said that he had been "tortured" for three years after his arrest at Putin's behest and was finally killed. His body had also been "mistreated", said the opposition figure's widow.

Navalnya's speech to the European Parliament attracted a lot of attention.(Bild: AP)

"Abused" after death
"He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world. He was denied visits, phone calls, even letters. And then they killed him. Even after that, they abused his body and they abused his mother," said Navalnaya, according to the English-language text of the speech published by Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh. For days, the authorities had refused to hand over her son's body to Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya.

Navalny died unexpectedly in the "Polar Wolf" prison camp in Siberia on February 16. Russian authorities stated a natural cause of death. They rejected accusations of state involvement. However, Navalny's supporters and leading Western politicians blame Putin for the opposition politician's death. Navalny's speech was met with a long standing ovation from the MPs.

You have reliable allies in this fight. There are many millions of Russians who are against the war, against Putin, against evil.

Nawalnaja ermutigte in ihrer Rede zum Kampf gegen Putin mit anderen Methoden als Sanktionen und Diplomatie.

Fears arrests at funeral
Navalny is to be buried in Moscow on Friday. Navalnaya said she was not sure whether the funeral and funeral service would be peaceful or whether the police would intervene.

Navalny was the best-known opposition figure in Russia and one of Putin's fiercest critics. In particular, he denounced corruption and greed and described the state leadership as "crooks and thieves". His posts on the internet were viewed millions of times. He was sentenced to more than 30 years in prison.