Spontaneous memorial events in Zurich and Geneva after Navalny’s death
Published: Friday, Feb 16th 2024, 19:30
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Around 300 people gathered in Zurich on Friday for a memorial event following the death of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny. They held Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible. Around 50 people gathered in Geneva,
The association Russia of the Future - Switzerland called for "urgent rallies" in Geneva and Zurich at short notice after Navalny's death became known on Friday.
In Zurich, around 300 people gathered on Europaplatz next to the main railway station. Some brought posters with the words "Never give up" next to a portrait of Alexei Navalny. "Putin killed Navalny", read another poster.
This message was also spread by the participants in Geneva on the Square of Nations. They saw the Russian president as a "bloodthirsty murderer". "I didn't think Navalny would die in prison," a woman who had worked with the Russian activist's teams told the participants. "But the forces of the state were stronger" than those of civil society, she added.
Died in penal colony
"The next days, weeks and months will be intense for the opposition, the civilian population and Russia," wrote the Russia of the Future - Switzerland association in its appeal.
The Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has died in custody, according to the Russian judiciary. The 47-year-old collapsed on Friday after a walk in his Siberian penal colony and immediately lost consciousness. Resuscitation attempts by paramedics were unsuccessful.
It is suspected that the Russian secret service had already carried out a poison attack on Navalny in Siberia in August 2020. In Germany, where Navalny was treated, a laboratory detected Novichok, a nerve agent that had already been produced in the Soviet Union. Involvement, if not direct instruction for the attack by President Putin himself, is considered very likely in the West.
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