“A man of incredible courage”
Biden meets Navalny’s widow and daughter
February 23, 2024, 2:03 a.m
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After the death of imprisoned Russian Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny became known last week, US President Joe Biden met his widow and daughter in California. Biden saw Julia and Dasha Navalnaya in San Francisco to “express his deepest condolences to both of them in light of their terrible loss,” the White House said. The president also expressed “his admiration for Navalny’s extraordinary courage and his fight against corruption and for a free and democratic Russia.”
The press was excluded from the meeting.
(Photo: picture alliance / ZUMAPRESS.com)
The opposition leader’s fight will be kept alive by the people in Russia and around the world “who mourn him and stand up for freedom, democracy and human rights,” emphasized Biden. In response to Navalny’s death, Biden announced further “significant” sanctions against Russia on Friday.
After the closed-door meeting, Biden briefly appeared before the cameras and said: “I had the honor of meeting the wife and daughter of Alexei Navalny. He was a man of incredible courage and it is extraordinary to see “How his wife and daughter emulate him.” The White House published two photos on the X online service. In one of the pictures, Biden hugs the widow. Dasha Navalnaya studies at Stanford University in California. She previously published a photo on X that showed her with her mother.
West blames Putin
The death of Navalny, who had been imprisoned in Russia for years, became known on Friday last week. He died in a penal camp in the Arctic Circle at the age of 47. Navalny’s death caused international consternation. Numerous Western politicians as well as Navalny’s widow blamed the Russian leadership and President Vladimir Putin for his death. Moscow rejected the allegations.
After days of waiting, Navalny’s mother said she was granted access to his body on Thursday. She saw the body, Lyudmila Navalnaya said in a video published by Navalny’s team. She accused the Russian authorities of “blackmailing” her to force a “secret” burial of her son.