President Joe Biden has warned Russia that there will be consequences if Alexei Navalny dies in jail as doctors warn his health is already deteriorating.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the president is considering a range of responses and that Moscow is already aware of the threat.
“We have communicated to the Russian government that what happens to Mr. Navalny in their custody is their responsibility and they will be held accountable by the international community,” Sullivan said on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ program.
He continued: “We have communicated that there will be consequences if Mr. Navalny dies.”
According to reports, Navalny flew from Berlin to Russia after spending almost six months recovering for a nerve agent poisoning. He was then arrested at passport control and was sentenced to more than two years behind bars.
Last month, the US sanctioned seven members of the Russian government for the detention of Navalny and the alleged poisoning.
Meanwhile, EU leaders said sanctions placed on Russia could be increased if the Putin critic dies.
French minister Yves le Drain said: “The package of sanctions is already significant, but there may be others.”
German foreign minister Heiko Maas also said that the issue will be discussed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
This comes after Yaroslav Ashikhmin, a doctor acting on behalf of Navalny’s relatives, said test results from the Russian penal colony where he is being held show dangerous levels of potassium in his blood. He also has signs of kidney failure.
Ashikhmin warned: “Our patient could die at any moment.”
The 44-year-old activist has been on hunger strike since March 31 as he says Russian prison guards do not give him adequate treatment for numbness in his legs and acute pain in his back.
But Moscow says that Navalny is being given proper care.
Sullivan said Washington is “looking at a variety of different costs that we would impose… if Mr. Navalny dies,” but did not go into specifics.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section and SHARE this story with your friends and family!