People gathered outside the Russian Embassy in San Gwann on Monday, in a protest following the death of Alexei Navalny.
Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday. He was 47. Navalny remained vocal in his unrelenting criticism of the Kremlin even after surviving a nerve agent poisoning and receiving multiple prison terms. Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's widow, has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of killing her husband in the remote prison and vowed to punish him and other alleged perpetrators, the Associated Press (AP) reports. "She also slammed the authorities, saying they were refusing to hand over the body to his mother to cover-up his alleged killing. Russian authorities said that the cause for Navalny's death Friday at age 47 is still unknown," AP writes.
On Monday evening in Malta, protestors lit candles, laid flowers and affixed images of Navalny against the Russian Embassy's doors.
Speaking outside the Embassy, Repubblika President Robert Aquilina called Navalny's death a "political murder," and an "assassination."
"We are shocked," he said.
He said that Navalny was persecuted for years. "Four years ago, they tried to poison him. He managed to escape death through the care he received in a specialized clinic in Germany. Navalny, once recovering, could have stayed in Germany if he wanted. But he chose to go back to his country. He want to his people, among his people. He wasn't afraid of going to a country led by Putin. Putin, who is afraid of democracy, who is scared of fundamental human rights. No wonder Putin felt threatened by Nabalny. Just a month later, Putin again tried to silence Navalny, sending him to jail."
Amnesty International decries the process through which Navalny received a jail sentence, he said.
He said that in August 2023, Navalny was handed a second prison sentence, this time for 19 years. "This would have meant that Navalny would not leave prison before 2038. The European Court of Human Rights declared that Navalny's fundamental rights were breached, as they were not just processes."
Aquilina said that Navalny was the main leader of the opposition in Russia through a party he set up. He said that Navalny had also set up the Anti Corruption Foundation, that investigated and uncovered corruption by high up Russian officials and their friends.
Navalny gave his life for the liberty of others, he said, describing him as a hero.
He expressed solidarity with Navalny's mother. "We know what you are going through. They killed journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia to try and stop her from continuing to uncover corruption."
He expressed solidarity with the "hundreds who in Russia are being thrown in jail for going to place a flower on a memorial to Navalny."
"Putin fanned the flame of a fight against the atrocities he is committing every day. No matter what you do this flame does not die. Because Navalny will live on."
Protestors then sang the Maltese national anthem as they raised peace signs with their hands.
