A Moscow court on Tuesday ordered the arrest in absentia of Yulia Navalnaya, widow of the late Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny. The court accused Navalnaya, who currently lives outside Russia, of participating in an “extremist” group, a charge commonly used against the Russian government’s critics. This ruling means she could face immediate arrest if she returns to Russia.
Navalnaya, 47, has stepped into the public spotlight following her husband’s death in an Arctic penal colony in February. She has pledged to continue the fight for what Navalny called the “beautiful Russia of the future.” She has met with several Western leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, and was recently appointed chair of the U.S.-based Human Rights Foundation.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Navalnaya urged her supporters to focus on the fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin rather than the court order. “When you write about this, please don’t forget to write the main thing: Vladimir Putin is a murderer and a war criminal,” she wrote. “His place is in prison… in the same (penal) colony and the same 2 by 3 metre cell in which he killed Alexei.”
The Kremlin has denied any involvement in Navalny’s death. Navalnaya, however, has vowed to use her new position to continue her husband’s fight against Putin and “take on board everything that can be useful to fight Putin, to fight for the beautiful Russia of the future.”
This latest development comes amidst a wider crackdown on dissent in Russia, with authorities increasingly targeting opposition figures and independent voices.