Russian court orders arrest in absentia of late Kremlin critic Navalny’s wife
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The ruling means Ms Yulia Navalnaya, who lives outside Russia, would face certain arrest if she were to set foot in the country.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
LONDON - A court in Moscow on July 9 ordered the arrest in absentia of Ms Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, on charges of extremism.
The court accused Ms Navalnaya, who lives outside Russia, of participating in an “extremist” group.
The decision means she would face certain arrest if she were to set foot in the country.
Ms Navalnaya, 47, has stepped into the spotlight following her husband’s death in an Arctic penal colony in February
Writing on social media platform X on July 9, Ms Navalnaya told her supporters to focus not on the court order against her, but on the battle against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“When you write about this, please don’t forget to write the main thing: Vladimir Putin is a murderer and a war criminal,” she wrote.
“His place is in prison, and not somewhere in The Hague, in a cosy cell with a TV, but in Russia – in the same (penal) colony and the same 2m by 3m cell in which he killed Alexei.”
The Kremlin has denied ordering Navalny killed.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticised Russia’s move to issue an arrest warrant for Ms Navalnaya as anti-democratic.
The arrest order is a “warrant against the desire for freedom and democracy”, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “After the death of her husband, she carries on his legacy.”
Since her husband’s death, Ms Navalnaya has met a number of senior Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden in San Francisco.
The US-based non-profit group Human Rights Foundation named Ms Navalnaya its chair last week. She said she would use the new role to step up the struggle waged by her husband against President Putin.
“We will take on board everything that can be useful to fight Putin, to fight for the beautiful Russia of the future,” Ms Navalnaya said on X. REUTERS
