(Montreal) Canada imposes new sanctions on six Russian officials in connection with the death of Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny, which occurred on February 16.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, made the announcement in a press release on Sunday morning.
“Together with its partners, Canada will maintain pressure on the Russian government to conduct a full and transparent investigation into Mr. Navalny’s death. The actions taken today are consistent with Canadian principles and values. This increased pressure on the Russian government sends a clear signal that human rights must be unequivocally respected,” Minister Joly argued in the document.
Mr. Navalny died in an Arctic penal colony. Russian authorities have still not announced the cause of death of the man, who was 47 years old.
The six Russian officials “who participated in the violation of Mr. Navalny’s human rights, his cruel punishment and, ultimately, his death” are sanctioned under the Special Economic Measures Regulations, said Global Affairs Canada .
PHOTO JUSTIN TANG, THE CANADIAN PRESS
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly
Among them are the director of colony No. 3 in the Kharp locality, Vadim Kalinin, as well as the general head of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, in which colony No. 3, Igor Rakitin.
The other sanctioned individuals, Alexandr Varapaev, Marina Bobek, Ekaterina Frolova and Kirill Nikiforov, are senior officials and high-ranking personnel of the criminal prosecution services, as well as the judicial and correctional services of Russia, Global Affairs said in the same document.
Following the death of Mr. Navalny, Canada summoned the Russian ambassador to Canada, Oleg Stepanov, to request an investigation into the death of the Russian opponent.
Mr Navalny’s funeral was held on Friday. He had been imprisoned since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow to face certain arrest after recovering in Germany from a nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.
Canada also added 10 Russian officials and businessmen as well as 153 entities to its sanctions list on February 23, on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
With information from the Associated Press