MOSCOW- Julia Navalnaya, the widow of the prominent Russian opponent Alexei Navalni, who died in mid-February in an Arctic prison, warned this Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin “led the country into isolation” in recent years and recalled that there are currently hundreds of political prisoners in Russia.
This is how he spoke at the beginning of what is now Putin’s fifth term at the head of the country. According to Navalnaya, Putin’s leadership has led to Russia’s departure from the Council of Europe, the disengagement of courts from the international legal system and the departure of Russian universities from the global education system, and she assured that “because of Putin, athletes “Russians are no longer welcome” at competitions, he lamented.
Likewise, he warned that political prisoners “faced inhumane conditions in prison” and stated that new cases of this type were opened every day as the State surrounded the private lives of the population.
“On a personal level, the last six years of Putin’s rule were the years in which my husband, a true patriot, was persecuted, poisoned, tried and tortured in prison for three years, as well as murdered,” she said in a video released through their social networks.
“Putin also did this. The same Putin who swore to respect and protect the rights and freedoms of citizens. His promises are empty. 25 years have passed and it will be the same during this term. Things only got worse and it scares me think about what happened if Putin remained in power,” he said.
Navalnaya expressed in turn that with Putin at the helm “the country would never have peace, nor development, nor freedom (…) the foundation of his regime was lies and corruption, and every day they steal money from us to finance the bombing of cities peaceful protests and the police beating citizens,” he continued.
The widow of the Russian opposition leader called for the fight, “we must make sure that no one in the world believes Putin. It is a challenge, but we must move forward. “Our country is currently being led by a thief, liar and murderer, and this must end,” he said.
He also blamed Putin for starting the war and noted that “he could not deceive the people who went to the front.” “We do not know the exact number of deaths because they are afraid to give real figures,” he warned, before emphasizing that it is a “bloody” war that “makes no sense.”
Finally, in the face of all the accusations against the Russian leader, the widow stressed that “No one but Putin wants” war.
Source: EUROPA PRESS
