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Russian expats hold rally in Warsaw, Vilnius after Navalny's death

17.02.2024 08:40
A couple of hundred people gathered at spontaneous rallies in Warsaw and Vilnius on Friday as they paid tribute to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose death Moscow had announced earlier that day.
Aleksiej Nawalny
Aleksiej Nawalny PAP/EPA/TOLGA AKMEN

Navalny, a prominent critic of corruption in Russia under Vladimir Putin's regime, passed away on Friday while serving a 19-year prison sentence in an Arctic penal colony.

Reportedly, around 100 people gathered in front of the Russian embassy in the Polish capital to hold a demonstration in response to his death. The majority of them were young and visibly affected by the loss of the opposition leader, the Reuters news agency's report.

Denislan, a 29-year-old Russian, said he joined the rally to protest against "political murders" and said he saw a "symbol of Russian civil society" in Navalny.

In his opinion, as quoted by the AFP news agency, Russia "should and can be a democratic country."

People lit candles and laid flowers along the fence surrounding the building of the Russian embassy. The participants chanted slogans such as "Putin is a killer", vowing to "never forget nor forgive" the dissident's death, Reuters reported.

Several hundred people also gathered in Lithuania, a stalwart critic of Russia.

The participants rallied at the memorial for Soviet occupation victims in Vilnius, holding portraits of Navalny, according to Reuters.

Russian authorities said Navalny died after a fall at a penal colony on Friday.


(aj)

SOURCE: REUTERS, AFP