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West mounts pressure on Russia after Navalny's death in jail
MOSCOW - Western nations mounted pressure on Russia, blaming its leader and the government for the death of leading Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in an Arctic prison in opaque circumstances.
Navalny's death was announced on Friday after three years in detention and a poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.
It deprives Russia's opposition of its figurehead just a month before an election poised to extend President Vladimir Putin's hold on power and comes at a time of intense repression and as Moscow's campaign in Ukraine nears its two-year anniversary.
The West blamed Putin and his government for the 47-year-old's death which followed months of deteriorating health in harsh detention conditions.
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Saturday said Navalny's "heroic opposition to Putin's repressive and unjust regime inspired the world".
"We hold the Russian Government solely responsible for his treatment and death in prison," Wong said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
US President Joe Biden was equally blunt, saying: "Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny's death".
Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov added: "Alexei Navalny was tortured and tormented for three years... Murder was added to Alexei Navalny's sentence".
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Western leaders of "absolutely unacceptable" and "hysterical" reactions to Navalny's death.
Moscow authorities also warned the public against taking part in any protests as videos shared online showed dozens of Russians laying flowers at monuments to victims of political repression in different Russian cities.