The magazine that honored Navalny is being pulled from Moscow stands

2024-02-22 11:33:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

An issue of the Russian weekly magazine Sobesednik, devoted in part to Alexei Navalny, has been pulled from the stands in Moscow, the magazine's editorial board announced, as Russian authorities continue to crack down on any public demonstrations honoring the late adversary. Kremlin.

Navalny's death in a remote Arctic prison was reported on February 16, prompting widespread grief and anger in Russia and around the world, as Russian authorities have refused to hand over Navalny's body to his family. raised doubts about the cause of his death.

Russian officials said the cause was "sudden death" syndrome.

While most of Russia's print newspapers did not deal with Navalny's death at all, the latest issue of Sobesednik, which featured a photo of a smiling Navalny on the cover of the magazine accompanied by a caption, "...but there is hope!" was released on February 21.

It featured reports from spontaneous commemorations of Navalny's death in several Russian cities and comments from public figures, human rights activists and journalists such as 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov.

Sobesednik reporter Elena Milchanovskaya told the SotaVision channel on Telegram that the editors were not notified why all copies of the magazine had been confiscated by authorities in Moscow.

"All this is very serious and even a little scary for us," said Milchanovskaya.

Navalny's death after being held in harsh conditions at the remote Arctic prison in Russia's northern Yamalo-Nenets region prompted hundreds of Russians to gather in his memory, but they were quickly dispersed by authorities.

According to "OCD-Info", between February 16 and 19, security forces arrested 397 people in 39 cities during rallies in memory of Alexei Navalny.

Lyudmila Navalnaya, Navalny's mother, has filed a lawsuit in a Russian court demanding the release of her son's body, a day after she pleaded with Russian President Vladimir Putin to hand over his body.

Putin has not responded./REL