UK sanctions guards at ‘Polar Wolf ’ colony where Navalny died
‘It’s clear that the Russian authorities saw Navalny as a threat and they tried repeatedly to silence him’
BRITAIN yesterday announced sanctions against the prison guards who work at the Arctic penal colony where Alexei Navalny died.
The move, announced in advance of a broad package of US restrictions expeced to be published on Friday, bars six men from visiting the UK and freezes their UK assets.
Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, said: “It’s clear that the Russian authorities saw Navalny as a threat and they tried repeatedly to silence him.”
He added: “Those responsible for Navalny’s brutal treatment should be under no illusion – we will hold them accountable.”
Among those sanctioned is Vadim Konstantinovich Kalinin, who oversaw the IK-3 Polar Wolf prison colony where Navalny was kept in solitary confinement for long periods.
Lyudmila Navalnaya, Navalny’s mother, travelled to the prison on Saturday but has been barred from seeing his body. On Wednesday she filed a lawsuit demanding it be released, amid suspicions her son was poisoned. The British Government called for a transparent investigation into Navalny’s death and for his body to be released to his family.
Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, told the Commons: “The whole House will join me in sending our deepest condolences to the family of Alexei Navalny. He died for a cause to which he dedicated his whole life, freedom. Together with our allies we are considering all options to hold Russia and Putin to account and this morning we sanctioned those running the prison where Alexei Navalny’s body still lies.”
Navalny flew to Germany in 2020 for life-saving treatment after being poisoned by a Soviet-era nerve agent. He returned to Russia in 2021 to continue his fight against Putin and was arrested.
In 2023, the Kremlin critic was transferred to the “special regime” penal colony north of the Arctic Circle after being jailed for 19 years on top of the almost 12-year sentence he was serving.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, told MPS during Prime Minister’s Questions that Vladimir Putin had stolen “the future and democracy of the Russian people”.
The Labour leader said: “I’m sure the whole House will join in sharing our disgust at the death of Alexei Navalny, who – as the Prime Minister said – died because of his efforts to expose the corruption of the Putin regime.”
Labour had called on Mr Sunak to consider sanctions against almost 8,000 people named on Mr Navalny’s list of
Putin’s cronies. An initial list that named 35 individuals linked to his poisoning and imprisonment has been expanded to 7,945 individuals, including people accused of being oligarchs, human rights abusers and involved in corruption. About 1,162 people identified by Mr Navalny’s Anti-corruption Foundation have been sanctioned by Britain, the organisation said.
Only Canada sanctioned all 35 people included in the original list. The UK and Australia sanctioned 29 each. The EU took action against 26 and the US 24.
There was criticism that the asset freezes and travel bans would not hurt Putin’s henchmen. Mark Farmaner, director at Burma Campaign UK, said Britain had imposed similarly weak sanctions on members of the Myanmar military.
“There are probably no assets to freeze,” he said on social media. “The default UK response to human rights violations is basically a ban on taking holidays in the UK.”
The EU yesterday approved a 13th package of sanctions against Russia that targets nearly 200 entities and individuals accused of helping Moscow procure weapons, or of involvement in the kidnapping of Ukrainian children.
Germany has demanded Russia explain Mr Navalny’s death. His widow Yulia gave an emotional speech to the Munich Security Conference last weekend in which she vowed to continue her husband’s work.