PM blames Putin for dissident’s death
Anthony Albanese has blamed Vladimir Putin for the death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, declaring he was ‘shocked and saddened’.
Anthony Albanese has blamed Vladimir Putin for the death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, declaring he was “shocked and saddened”.
The Prime Minister said the death of Russia’s former opposition leader and activist in prison was a tragedy. “Australia is shocked and saddened by the news of Alexei Navalny’s death,” he said at the weekend.
“We hold Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime responsible for this death in prison. We cannot take democracy for granted; we need to cherish and nurture it.
“And we need to call out the behaviour of authoritarians like Vladimir Putin.”
The outspoken Mr Navalny accused Mr Putin’s regime of poisoning him with a nerve agent in 2020, and he was thrown in jail less than a year later.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Mr Navalny’s opposition to the repressive Russian regime was “inspiring to so many people around the world”.
She would not say whether the Albanese government was considering further sanctions against Russia over the incident.
“We have already issued a great many sanctions against the Russian regime. I obviously don’t speculate on what further action the government might take on that front,” Senator Wong said.
Peter Dutton said Mr Putin was a “murderous dictator”.
“The fact that Mr Navalny’s been poisoned, that he’s been tortured, ultimately, all of that falls at the hands of Vladimir Putin,” the Opposition Leader said.
“Vladimir Putin is a murderous dictator, as we’re seeing in Ukraine now.
“The fact that he would be responsible for incarcerating his opposite number, allowing the person to be poisoned, to be incarcerated in the way and treated in the way that he has is appalling, and it speaks to the character of President Putin.”
Mr Dutton said the incident showed Western democratic nations needed to stick together.
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