’Russia is responsible’: western leaders react to Alexei Navalny’s death

The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in jail, the country’s prison service has said. Navalny, 47, one of Putin’s most visible and persistent critics, was being held in a jail about 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle, where he had been sentenced to 19 years under a “special regime”. Western reaction was swift, as top officials from the US and Europe accused the Kremlin of causing Navalny’s death. “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 that Putin has built,” the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said. “Russia is responsible for this.” Subscribe to Guardian News on YouTube ► The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► Sign up to the Guardian’s free new daily newsletter, First Edition ► Websit