Moscow Court Orders Arrest of Yulia Navalnaya, Widowed Wife of Late Opposition Leader

Yulia Navalnaya, widow of late Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, waits to vote at the Russian Embassy in Russian elections on March 17, 2024, in Berlin, Germany.

A court in Moscow has ordered the arrest of Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, in absentia, according to her spokesperson on Tuesday.

The Basmanny District Court accused Navalnaya of "participation in an extremist organization," her spokesperson Kira Yarmysh announced on social media. Navalnaya has also been added to an international wanted list, as reported by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

The court's decision followed a request by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation to detain Navalnaya. The detention period will commence from her potential extradition to Russian territory or from her capture within Russia, as per a press release. Navalnaya currently resides outside of Russia.

Alexey Navalny, a prominent opposition leader, died on February 16 in a Siberian penal colony while serving a 19-year sentence for creating an extremist community, financing extremist activities, and other charges. He was already serving 11-and-a-half years on fraud and other charges, which he had consistently denied, labeling them politically motivated.

Yulia Navalnaya (right), at least in public, has often laughed off the hardships that her husband (left) has brought on the family through his battle with the Russian state.

Navalny was a staunch critic of President Vladimir Putin, who has been in power for nearly 25 years. Navalny's death, which occurred weeks before the presidential elections set for March 15, provoked widespread grief and anger both internationally and within Russia, where dissent is heavily suppressed.

Navalny returned to Russia in 2021 after recovering in Germany from poisoning with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent. He was arrested upon arrival on charges he dismissed as politically driven and spent the remainder of his life in prison.

Following her husband's death, Yulia Navalnaya accused President Putin of being responsible and vowed to continue her husband's work for a "happy, beautiful Russia." In an emotional video, she accused Putin of killing her husband and attempting to conceal the true cause of his death, alleging the use of Novichok.

The Kremlin has denied any involvement in Navalny's death. Responding to the court's decision, Yulia Navalnaya reiterated her accusations against Putin. "His place is in prison, not in a cozy cell in The Hague, but in Russia, in the same colony and the same 2 by 3 meter cell in which he killed Alexey," she said in a social media post. She further emphasized, "Vladimir Putin is a murderer and a war criminal."