Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has joined world leaders in saying that Russian president Vladimir Putin is behind the death of dissident Alexei Navalny.
Speaking to media after delivering his State of the Nation speech in Auckland on Sunday, Luxon was asked if he thought Putin was directly responsible for Navalny's death, to which he said that was his "personal view."
"We are gravely concerned about an opposition leader imprisoned for standing up for values we believe very strongly in a liberal democracy," Luxon said.
"When you're advocating for freedom, for democracy, for freedom of expression...values that we as all Kiwis...stand up believe in, it's incredibly concerning and that's why you've seen a consistent reaction from the rest of the world that this is unacceptable."
The Prime Minister said New Zealand stands with "like-minded countries" such as the US and UK in condemning the Russian president.
He said that he would be discussing the matter further with Foreign Minister Winston Peters in the coming week.
Navalny, Putin's fiercest opposition, died early on Saturday morning in an Arctic Circle prison.
NZ politicians pay tribute
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on social media site X on Saturday that he was "saddened" to hear of Navalny's death.
He said the man was "a fierce advocate of freedom and anti-corruption."
Winston Peters, Minister for Foreign Affairs, also posted his sympathies on the same social media site. He said in a follow-up post that "New Zealand remains concerned over Russia's repression of political opponents."
ACT Leader David Seymour joined his coalition partners in paying homage to the Russian.
He said Navalny said his thoughts are "with those he left behind, and all those struggling against oppression in Russia."
Former Labour leader and Prime Minister Helen Clark has also commented on the death of the opposition leader.
In addition to her message, she shared a BBC article outlining what is known about Navalny's death.
Navalny had been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow to face certain arrest after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.
Since then, he was convicted three times, and rejected each case as politically motivated.
After the last verdict, Navalny said he understood that he was "serving a life sentence, which is measured by the length of my life or the length of life of this regime".
Additional reporting by Associated Press
SHARE ME