The announcement of the death of Alexei Navalny, the most famous Russian opponent in the West, was made by the Russian prison administration an hour before the opening of the 60th Munich Security Conference on Friday, February 16, and two hours before the speech to be given by US Vice-President Kamala Harris. Harris therefore had no option but to open her speech with the "terrible news," for which she had yet to receive confirmation. "If confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putin’s brutality. Whatever story they tell, let us be clear: Russia is responsible."
Navalny's wife and mother of two, Yulia Navalnaya, who was in Munich at the invitation of the conference organizers, bravely took his place at the podium. "I thought: should I stand here before you or should I go back to my children? And then I thought: what would have Alexei done in my place? And I’m sure that he would have been standing here on this stage," said the opponent's widow, mentioning her doubt in the face of the news broadcast by official Russian media.
"Because for years, we cannot believe Putin and Putin's government (...) But if it is the truth, I would like Putin, his entire entourage, his friends, his government to know that they will be punished for what they have done with our country, with my family and with my husband. They will be brought to justice and this day will come soon. I would like to call upon all the international community, all the people in the world: we should come together and fight against this evil, 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 in recent years." Her short speech was met with a standing ovation.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.