Britain sanctions the leaders of the prison where Navalny died

Britain imposed sanctions on Wednesday against six leaders of the remote Arctic prison where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died last week.

Those sanctioned, including the prison's chief and five deputy chiefs, are banned from entering the UK now while their assets will be frozen, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said.

"It is clear that the Russian authorities have seen Navalny as a threat and have repeatedly tried to silence him," Cameron said.

"The people who are responsible for the brutal treatment they gave to Navalny should be very aware that we will hold them accountable," he added.

Russian authorities in the Arctic announced on February 16 Navalny's death.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has promoted the deputy director of Russia's Prison Service (FSIN), Valery Boyarinev, to the rank of colonel-general, just three days after the death of the vocal Kremlin critic in an Arctic prison, a source said on Tuesday. associate of Navalny.

The Kremlin - which for years has avoided mentioning Navalny by name - broke its official silence on February 19, saying an investigation was underway and would be conducted in accordance with Russian law.

The location of Navalny's body has not been disclosed by Russian authorities, while efforts to find him have been suspended.

Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of the late Russian opposition leader, has accused the Russian authorities of hiding Navalny's body, as they are waiting for traces of the Novichok nerve agent to disappear from his body.

More than 67,000 Russian citizens have sent letters to Russia's Investigative Committee, asking it to return Alexei Navalny's body to his family, Meduza media reported on Tuesday.

The West has accused the Russian state led by Putin of his murder.

Navalny has been sentenced to more than 19 years in prison on charges that he and his supporters have deemed politically motivated.

He was poisoned in 2020 with Novichok nerve agent, and at that time he blamed the state apparatus, led by Putin, for that decision.

Navalny had recovered in Germany after the poisoning, and on the day of his return to Russia, he was sent to prison./ REL