DISINFO: The US and the European Union are to blame for Navalny's death
SUMMARY
The accusations, and statements from politicians and heads of unfriendly states sound like carbon copies. Who benefits from Navalny’s death today?
Those who imposed more than 19,000 sanctions against Russia, aiming to tear its economy to shreds; those who are losing the war in Ukraine; those who are not supported by their populations and have no chance of winning elections, but at the same time want to retain power by any means; those who are eager to seize the gold and foreign exchange resources of [Russia]; those who want to destroy Russia are doing everything to stop its development.
Their names are well known: from the Secretary General of NATO and the US leadership to Scholz, Sunak and Zelenskyy, these are the perpetrators of Navalny’s death.
RESPONSE
Pro-Kremlin disinformation message, accusing the West of being behind the death of Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny in a Russian prison on 16 February 2024.
An unfounded and manipulative claim that accuses the West, as part of pro-Kremlin propaganda, of being responsible for Navalny's continuous persecution, poisoning, imprisonment, and eventual death. This aims to deflect any criticism away from Russia's responsibility. Recall that back in 2020, the same propaganda machine was claiming Navalny was likely poisoned by the West to frame Russia.
The message also contains various well-known pro-Kremlin narratives about illegal Western sanctions, the destruction of Russia, and the desire to steal Russia's natural resources.
Russian prison authorities said that the Navalny had become unwell following a walk and had lost consciousness at the remote IK-3 prison in the Arctic Circle - also known as the Siberian "Polar Wolf" penal colony.
The news drew a forceful reaction from Western leaders: US President Joe Biden pinned the blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that “what has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry hit back, saying the way Western leaders blamed Russia for his death showed their cynicism, hypocrisy, and unscrupulousness.
The 47-year-old Navalny had survived a poisoning attempt on 20 August 2020. Initially hospitalised in Omsk, at the request of his family he was transferred to Charité hospital in Berlin, where a specialist Bundeswehr laboratory carried out toxicological tests on samples from him. The results of these tests revealed unequivocal proof of the presence of a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group.
The European Union introduced restrictive measures against six individuals and one entity involved in the assassination attempt on Alexey Navalny. The sanctions took place in the framework of the restrictive measures against the proliferation and use of chemical weapons.
See other examples of these disinformation narratives, such as claims that Navalny is a NATO agent provoking a colour revolution in Russia; Western criticism of the Navalny case is the interference, Russia doesn’t mess with other countries’ affairs; US and EU are looking for new candidates to destabilise Russia from the inside.