An ally of Alexei Navalny, Lilia Khanicheva, and a figure in the Russian opposition, Vladimir Kara-Murza, both imprisoned in Russia, reacted to the death of the opposition despite their limited communication with the outside world, which among other things it means finding out about the news late.
In a message published yesterday, Txanicheva, sentenced in June 2023 to seven and a half years in prison, wrote that she could not "say what I think about the death of Aleksei Navalni" because of the "censorship" of the administration penitentiary "My deepest condolences to his loved ones and parents. I'm in mourning", he limited himself to indicating in this message sent from prison to his followers and published on his Telegram account.
Lilia Tschanycheva, the former head of Navalny's anti-corruption organization branch in her hometown in the central Russian republic of Bashkiria, was the first of her associates to be tried and convicted for creating an "extremist organization", some time after it was forbidden to be a candidate for the local Parliament and for the mayor of Ufa.
Another major opponent, Vladimir Karà-Murzà, and at the same time an old friend of Alexei Navalny and of the murdered (in 2015) opponent Boris Nemtsov, was able to send a more detailed message that was published on Tuesday on social networks by his team . "The responsibility for the death of Aleksei Navalny lies personally with Vladimir Putin, because Aleksei was his personal prisoner," he wrote.
"It is the best who die, the bravest, the most sincere, the least indifferent. Everyone will return except for those we need the most", continues Karà-Murzà, quoting a song by the Russian bard Vladímir Vissotski (1938-1980). "A vengeful, fearful and greedy old man maintains his deadly rule by destroying everything he perceives as a threat to his power," adds the opponent, referring to President Putin.
Karà-Murzà, a Russo-British citizen, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being accused of treason, spreading "false information" about the Russian military and having links with an "undesirable organization". It is the harshest sentence imposed on an opponent in the country's recent history. In addition, he is in a very poor state of health, according to his followers, as a result of two poisonings or attempted poisonings that he suffered in 2015 and 2017.
In his message, the imprisoned politician states that he learned of Navalni's death over the radio, in his cell, on February 16, the day of the issuance of the short press release of the prison administration in which announced the death of the main opponent of Vladimir Putin.
