Brazil’s Lula says Navalny’s death should be investigated before accusations by Reuters

(Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Sunday that a thorough investigation should be conducted into the death of prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny before laying any charges.

His remarks were in stark contrast to Western leaders’ strong and swift criticism of Russia over Navalny’s death in an Arctic penal colony on Friday. US President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin and “his thugs” were responsible.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected these accusations as unacceptable.

Speaking at a news conference after attending an African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Lula said refraining from taking a position on death at this time was a matter of “common sense.”

“A citizen died in prison, I don’t know if he was sick or had some problem,” Lula said. “To make an accusation is to trivialize. I hope the medical examiner provides an explanation as to why the individual died, that’s all.”

Lula’s comments reflect how non-Western nations have not joined the West in its efforts to deeply isolate Russia’s Putin over the invasion of Ukraine and other issues.

Lula has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine and said Russia should not have invaded. But he says the United States has needlessly prolonged the war.

Navalny’s mother was informed on Saturday that her son had suffered from “sudden death syndrome” and that his body would not be handed over to the family until the investigation was completed, his team said.

During the press conference, Lula advocated for the Global South to assert its rightful place in the economy, politics and culture, underlining the importance of the BRICS bloc to this end.

The group, made up of Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa, officially expanded in January to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.