In today's Russia, free spirits are sent to Gulag: French President Macron

Reacting to the reported death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, French President Emmanuel Macron said that free spirits are sent to the Gulag and condemned to death in today's Russia, CNN reported.

He paid tribute to the memory of Navalny and his dedication and courage.

In a post on X, Macron stated, "In today's Russia, free spirits are sent to the Gulag and condemned to death. Anger and indignation. I pay tribute to the memory of Alexei Navalny, his dedication, his courage. My thoughts go out to his family, loved ones, and to the Russian people."

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died, the Russian prison service said on Friday, CNN reported. The Russian prison service on Friday announced that Navalny "felt unwell after a walk" and "almost immediately" lost consciousness. It said it was investigating his "sudden death," CNN reported.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin had been informed regarding the reports of the death of Navalny, CNN reported citing state-run media Ria Novosti reports. He stressed that it is for doctors to find the cause of Navalny's death.

Speaking to reporters, Peskov said, "As far as we're aware, in accordance with all the rules, the prison service is carrying out checks and clarifications." Asked about reports that the death involved a blood clot, he said, "I don't know. Doctors must find it out."

Meanwhile, Alexei Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, urged the international community to fight against Putin's "horrific" regime after her husband's death on Friday.

Addressing the delegates at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Navalnaya said she does not have confirmation about her husband's death--only the reports via state media.

"I thought about it quite a while. I thought, 'Should I stand here before you, or should I go back to my children?' And then I thought: 'What would Alexey have done in my place?' And I'm sure he would have been standing here on this stage," she said.

She said, "I would like to call upon all the international community - all the people in the world. We should come together, and we should fight against this evil. We should fight this horrific regime in Russia today. This regime, and Vladimir Putin, should be personally held responsible for all the atrocities they have committed in our country."

Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said his lawyer was travelling to the remote prison colony north of the Arctic Circle. However, Yarmysh later said that there was "almost no hope" that Navalny was alive, Al Jazeera reported.

On the occasion of New Year in January, Navalny sent out a message on social media stating that he does not feel lonely and is in a "great" mood, but he still misses spending time with his family and friends in person.

In a New Year's Eve message posted on social media by his team, Navalny was quoted as saying that this will be the third time "I have taken the traditional family New Year's Eve photo with Photoshop."

"I am trying to keep up with the times, and this time I asked an artificial intelligence to draw me. I hope it turned out something fantastic - I will not see the picture myself until the letter with it arrives on Yamal," Navalny had said, according to CNN.

At that time, he was serving his term at the Russian Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region's IK-3 prison colony. Navalny has been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.

Before his arrest, Navalny campaigned against corruption and organised major anti-Kremlin protests. He has since received three prison terms and spent months in isolation in Penal Colony Number 6 for alleged minor infractions.

A court extended Navalny's sentence to 19 years on "extremism" charges and ruled that he be moved to a more secure, harsher prison. Notably, Navalny had, time and again rejected all charges against him as politically motivated.