ROME - Italian President Sergio Mattarella has denounced the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in northern Russia as "bringing back memories of the darkest times in history." 

 Navalny opposed Putin and had previously tried to run against him in elections. However, he was barred by the Russian Central Election Committee due to previous trumped up convictions of embezzlement.

 In 2020, Navalny was hospitalised and transferred to Berlin after being poisoned by Novichok nerve agent, for which he and the West held Putin responsible.

 On returning to Russia in 2021 he was arrested on charges of violating his parole.

 His sentence was extended multiple times, meaning he would be in prison until 2038.

 In December 2023, it was revealed that Navalny had been transferred to a corrective colony in the Arctic Circle. Mattarella described this “long imprisonment in harsh conditions” as “bringing back memories of the darkest times in history.”

 Mattarella, whose brother was murdered by the Sicilian Mafia, expressed “condolences and sympathy of the Italian Republic” and said that Navalny’s death “represents the worst and most unjust conclusion to a human and political affair that has shaken the consciences of world opinion.”

  jp-khg