Canada’s foreign minister has announced another round of sanctions against the Russian government, which she said are in response to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny last month and Russia’s “ongoing gross and systematic human rights violations.”
Mélanie Joly announced the sanctions in a statement released early Sunday morning, saying the measures will be imposed on six senior Russian officials and senior employees of the prosecutor’s office, the judiciary and the correctional service. The statement said they were complicit in the violation of Navalny’s “human rights, his cruel punishment and ultimately his death.”
Navalny, 47, was widely seen as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s biggest political enemy.
During a visit to Ukraine late last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Putin of “executing” Navalny, who died unexpectedly a week earlier in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence.
The Kremlin rejected allegations that Putin was involved in Navalny’s death, calling them “completely unfounded, outrageous accusations against the Russian head of state.”
Joly said Russia must conduct a full and transparent investigation into the death of Navalny, who she called “a voice of hope for the Russian people as well as a voice for freedom, justice, democracy and a better future for Russia.”
Canada announced sanctions on 10 additional Russian officials and businessmen and 153 companies on February 23, in coordination with the United States and the United Kingdom.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2024.
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