Alexei Navalny was a voice for democracy, says president of Romanian Senate

The president of the Romanian Senate and leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Nicolae Ciucă, said on Friday, February 16, that Alexei Navalny, who died in prison, was a strong voice for democracy and transparency in Russia, and that his fight against corruption will not be forgotten.

Ciucă also said that this tragic loss underscores the urgent need for real democracy in Russia.

"Deeply saddened by the news of Alexei Navalny's passing. A steadfast voice for democracy and transparency in Russia, his fight against corruption and for human rights will not be forgotten. This tragic loss underlines the urgent need for real democracy in Russia," Ciucă said in a message on X.

Navalny, 47, was being held in jail about 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle, where he had been sentenced to 19 years under a “special regime”. He was a leader of the opposition in Russia and was Vladimir Putin’s number one enemy.

The federal penitentiary service for the region where Navalny was incarcerated said that he had “felt unwell after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness”. Medics confirmed his death afterward. The cause of death had not been established, the penitentiary service said.

Alexei Navalny had previously been treated in hospital after complaining of malnourishment and other ailments due to mistreatment in the prison. A lawyer for Navalny did not immediately confirm reports of his death, telling the Novaya Gazeta newspaper that his family had requested him not to comment on the reports.

In early December, Navalny had disappeared from a prison in the Vladimir region, where he was serving a 30-year sentence on extremism and fraud charges that he had called political retribution for leading the anti-Kremlin opposition of the 2010s. He did not expect to be released during Putin’s lifetime, according to The Guardian.

A former nationalist politician, Alexei Navalny helped foment the 2011-12 protests in Russia by campaigning against election fraud and government corruption, investigating Putin’s inner circle. In 2013 he won 27% of the votes in a Moscow mayoral contest. Years later, he identified a palace built on the Black Sea for Putin.

In 2020, Navalny fell into a coma after a suspected poisoning using novichok by Russia’s FSB security service and was evacuated to Germany for treatment. He recovered and returned to Russia in January 2021, where he was arrested on a parole violation charge and sentenced to his first of several jail terms that would total more than 30 years behind bars.