Many members of the Bundestag were unusually unanimous: They blame the Kremlin and President Putin for the death of the opposition member Navalny. “This murder was of course a matter for the boss,” says CDU foreign policy expert Röttgen.
Members of the Bundestag have blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin across all factions for the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The parties in the traffic light coalition and the Union also spoke out in favor of imposing stricter sanctions on Russia.
“We are calling for further sanctions for the Russian regime and must do everything we can to help Ukraine win,” said SPD politician Frank Schwabe in the Bundestag. “Navalny was murdered and the murderer’s name is Putin.”
Röttgen for more support for Ukraine
The CDU foreign politician Norbert Röttgen expressed himself similarly clearly: “This murder was of course a matter for the boss. Putin is the perpetrator.” German support for Ukraine with weapons and ammunition must “be increased now.” In addition, laws would have to be drawn up that would allow Russian state assets frozen abroad to be used for Ukrainian defense spending. These laws should henceforth be called “Navalny Laws.”
The Green Party leader Omid Nouripour emphasized that Putin bears “at least political” responsibility for the murder of Navalny. Nouripour further demanded that Navalny’s body be returned to his relatives “so that his mother can bury him with dignity.”
Old: Sanctions “rather ineffective”
FDP MP Renata Alt criticized the fact that “consistent measures were never taken” after the murders of Russian opposition members by the government in Moscow in the past. Sanctions were always “half-hearted and rather ineffective”. “The naivety of Germany and the European Union in dealing with Putin’s Russia has cost lives and must never be repeated,” said Alt.
AfD MP Jürgen Braun also denounced Russia’s treatment of the opposition, but at the same time drew parallels to Germany: “You are acting in a similar sophisticated way to Putin against the only opposition in this country,” Braun accused the federal government. All other parties distanced themselves from this settlement.
Bartsch sees “throneous silence” towards Assange
Dietmar Bartsch from the Left complained in the Bundestag that the Kremlin regime does not shy away from murder, oppression and arbitrary arrests. At the same time, he complained about the “blaring silence of the federal government” in the case of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is imprisoned in Great Britain and faces up to 175 years in prison if extradited to the USA.
Sahra Wagenknecht, the head of the BSW party named after her, said to the federal government, “If freedom and human rights were really important to you – why don’t you say a word about Julian Assange?” Wagenknecht also criticized that Navalny’s “tragic fate” was being “abused” to “carry the war to Moscow with German weapons.”
Navalny’s mother is suing for the body to be returned
Navalny died in custody in a Siberian camp last week. He died in a penal camp in the Arctic Circle at the age of 47. Navalny’s sudden death caused international consternation. Numerous Western politicians as well as Navalny’s widow blamed the Russian leadership and President Vladimir Putin for his death. Moscow rejected the allegations. The Kremlin critic’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, is scheduled to speak in the European Parliament next week.
According to the authorities, Navalny’s body will remain under lock and key for another two weeks due to “chemical examinations”. His mother now wants to take legal action against it. Lyudmila Navalnaya has filed a lawsuit in a court in Salekhard against the authorities’ refusal to release the body for burial, the Russian news agency Tass reported. However, the hearing was not scheduled until the beginning of March.
Gabor Halasz, ARD Berlin, tagesschau, February 21, 2024 8:12 p.m