Blinken says 'Russia is responsible' for death of opposition figure Navalny

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday held Russia responsible for the death of prominent opposition figure Alexey Navalny.

“For more than a decade, Russian government, Putin have persecuted, poisoned and imprisoned Alexey Navalny. And now reports of his death ... our hearts go out to his wife and his family," Blinken said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

"His death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system ... Russia is responsible for this,” he added.

The Russian penitentiary service said on Friday that Navalny died in a prison colony where he was serving his sentence on charges including extremism and fraud.

Navalny lost consciousness after a walk in the Arctic Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, where the colony is located, according to the prison service.