Marcelo Rebelo de Souza praises the “tremendous courage” of the Russian adversary, who “deserves respect and admiration”

The President of the Republic today praised the “tremendous courage” of Alexei Navalny, who died on Friday in prison in the Arctic, and considered that his Russian opponent deserves “respect and admiration for the way he fought for his convictions.”

“Alexey Navalny deserves our respect and admiration for the way he fought for his beliefs, aware of the risks he was taking, but defending freedom and democracy, the right to express his opinion and express his views with great courage,” the note said. . on the official website of the President of the Republic on the Internet.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa “supports and underlines” the position of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres “on the disturbing death of Alexei Navalny”, and following statements by the Portuguese government and the President of the European Commission. , Ursula von der Leyen.

On Friday, the UN secretary-general expressed shock at the death of his Russian opponent and called for a “full, credible and transparent investigation” to clarify the circumstances.

Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho held Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible for Navalny’s death, as well as many others, and acknowledged increased sanctions on Russia.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was also “deeply alarmed and saddened” by the news of the death of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny, serving as a “grim reminder” of the Russian president and his regime.

Russian opponent Alexei Navalny, one of Vladimir Putin’s main critics, has died in prison, according to Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service.

47-year-old Navaliy was in prison in the Arctic, serving a 19-year prison sentence under a “special regime” and, according to those services, after a walk he felt ill and lost consciousness.