Eduardo González
The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, received Yulia Navalnaya, president of the Human Rights Foundation and widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in February 2024, at the Moncloa Palace this Wednesday.
According to Moncloa, Sánchez discussed with Yulia Navalnaya—who is also president of the advisory board of the Anti-Corruption Foundation—the situation of the Russian opposition in exile and conveyed to her “Spain’s firm support for the defense of democratic values and human rights in Russia.”
The Prime Minister also reiterated “Spain’s firmness” in condemning the assassination of her husband and Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, and praised Yulia Navalnaya’s work at the forefront of defending democratic values, as well as the importance that figures like her have for Russian society.
“It is an honor to receive Yulia Navalnaya, president of the Human Rights Foundation, at La Moncloa,” Sánchez posted on social media. “Her commitment to freedom, human rights, and democracy keeps alive the legacy of her husband, Alexei Navalny, who continues to inspire those inside and outside Russia who defend these principles despite the risks they face,” he added.
Alexei Navalny, who was awarded the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2021, was imprisoned in early 2021 upon his return to Russia from Germany, where he had been hospitalized after being poisoned in the summer of 2020. He was considered the main opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has targeted his associates and outlawed his foundations.
In early 2021, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, traveled to Russia to, among other objectives, demand the dissident’s release. This sparked tension with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who compared Navalny’s situation to that of the Catalan separatists, who were imprisoned at the time.
In February 2024, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported the death of the 47-year-old opposition leader in the prison where he had been held since December. According to Russian media, Navalny fell ill after a walk and immediately lost consciousness. The official statement from the Russian prison service asserted that Navalny “underwent the necessary resuscitation procedures, which were unsuccessful” and that they were “determining the cause of death.”
“Shocked by the news of the death in prison of Alexei Navalny, unjustly imprisoned by the Putin regime for his defense of human rights and democracy,” Pedro Sánchez posted at the time on his official account on the social network X. “We demand clarification of the circumstances of his death, which occurred during his unjust imprisonment for political reasons,” wrote the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, on the same social network.
