PRESS RELEASE : Reports of the death of Alexei Navalny – FCDO statement [February 2024]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 16 February 2024.

The UK government has summoned the Russian Embassy to make clear that we hold the Russian authorities fully responsible.

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said:

Alexei Navalny dedicated his life to exposing the corruption of the Russian system, calling for free and open politics, and holding the Kremlin to account.

We stand today with his family, friends, colleagues and supporters. Our thoughts go out to them.

The Russian authorities saw Mr Navalny as a threat. Many Russian citizens felt he gave them a voice.

In recent years, the authorities imprisoned him on fabricated charges, poisoned him with a banned nerve agent, and sent him to an Arctic penal colony.

No-one should doubt the brutal nature of the Russian system.

His death must be investigated fully and transparently.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office today summoned the Russian Embassy to make clear that we hold the Russian authorities fully responsible.

Mr Navalny was a man of great courage and iron will. Even from his prison cell, he continued to speak up for the rights of the Russian people.  His dedication to human rights and exposing corruption was an inspiration to millions. The ideals for which he stood and died will live forever.