Just Elon supporting one of his favorite dictators. Elon Musk Under Scrutiny After Navalny’s Widow’s X/Twitter Account Was Temporarily Suspended https://www.mediaite.com/news/elon-...-x-twitter-account-was-temporarily-suspended/ Yulia Navalnya, the widow of the late Russia opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was temporarily suspended from Twitter/X on Tuesday after purportedly violating the platform’s rules. A day after Navalnya and her team posted a video to YouTube demanding the return of her husband’s body to his family and directly blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for his death, Navalnya’s account was suspended on the social media platform. As of this writing, no explanation was offered beyond the text that appeared on her suspended account: “X suspends accounts which violate the X Rules.” The video was also posted to Navalnya’s Twitter/X account, but no explanation has been given as to what rules she may have violated. Following her suspension on Twitter/X, a message from Navalnya posted on Tuesday included a strong message calling out the Russian government. The translation reads: I don’t care how the killer’s press secretary comments on my words. Give back Alexei’s body and let him be buried with dignity, don’t stop people from saying goodbye to him. And I really ask all journalists who may still ask questions: don’t ask about me, ask about Alexei. Several Twitter/X users have had the same question, including CNN’s Jake Tapper who simply asked “Why?” and addressed his question to Twitter/X owner Elon Musk. Musk has been criticized for being an apparent apologist for Putin, and the changes he made to the social media platform after he acquired it in late 2022 have only assisted in the spread of Russian propaganda and disinformation. But Musk has always denied he was acting in the name of making Twitter/X a “free speech zone” after believing it was censoring certain (right-wing) viewpoints. And while his looser regulations opened the door for Russian state-backed activity, according to The Wall Street Journal, Russia also benefits from Musk’s Starlink satellite services. But Musk’s seeming predilection for Russia has also been public, where he has openly praised Putin by saying “There is no way in hell that Putin is going to lose” against Ukraine and urged U.S. politicians not to pass a bill giving aid to Ukraine. Despite all of this, Musk called accusations that he was an apologist for Putin “absurd.”
Navalny was close to being freed in prisoner swap, says ally https://www.reuters.com/world/europ...ing-freed-prisoner-swap-says-ally-2024-02-26/ Feb 26 (Reuters) - Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was close to being freed in a prisoner swap at the time of his death, a close ally said on Monday, repeating an allegation by his family and supporters that President Vladimir Putin had him killed. Speaking on YouTube, Maria Pevchikh said talks about exchanging Navalny and two unnamed U.S. nationals for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian FSB security service hit man in jail in Germany, were in their final stages at the time of his death. Navalny, 47, died at an Arctic penal colony on Feb. 16. The Kremlin has denied Russian state involvement in his death. Navalny's death certificate stated that he died of natural causes, according to his supporters. "Alexei Navalny could be sitting in this seat right now, right today. That's not a figure of speech, it could and should have happened," said Pevchikh. "Navalny should have been out in the next few days because we got a decision about his exchange. In early February, Putin was offered to exchange the killer, FSB officer Vadim Krasikov, who's serving time for a murder in Berlin, for two American citizens and Alexei Navalny." Krasikov was jailed for life in Germany after being convicted of killing an exiled Chechen-Georgian dissident in Berlin's Tiergarten park in 2019. Putin signalled in an interview with U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson this month that he wanted to get Krasikov back. Pevchikh said she had confirmation that negotiations for the swap were in their final stages on the evening of Feb. 15. Navalny, she alleged, had been killed a day later because Putin could not tolerate the thought of him being free. Pevchikh, who is based outside Russia, did not immediately disclose sources for some of her assertions or present documentary evidence. She said that businessman Roman Abramovich had been involved in some of the talks as a mediator with Putin. There was no immediate comment from Abramovich. Pevchikh did not name the two U.S. nationals in contention to be swapped along with Navalny. But the United States has said it is trying to return Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. marine. Russia accuses both men of espionage, something they deny. Putin, who has yet to comment on Navalny's death, had previously said that talks between Russian and U.S. intelligence agencies were going on behind the scenes related to Gershkovich, but had made no mention of Navalny, whose name he does not usually mention publicly. Speaking earlier on Monday, the Kremlin had called allegations that Russian authorities had pressured the mother of Navalny over her son's funeral absurd, saying Putin had not been involved in decisions on Navalny's body. A spokeswoman for Navalny said on Friday that Russian authorities had given his 69-year-old mother Lyudmila an ultimatum: Agree within three hours to lay him to rest without a public funeral or he would be buried at the prison. The late opposition politician's body was handed over to his mother in the Arctic city of Salekhard on Saturday. The arrangements for his burial have yet to be announced. Asked if he would comment on the alleged official pressure put on Navalny's mother, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday: "I can't comment in any way because the Kremlin has nothing to do with this, so the Kremlin cannot exert pressure. This is another absurd statement by these (Navalny) supporters. "They are almost all wanted (by the Russian authorities) and almost all of them are abroad. Their statements should be treated accordingly." Pevchikh said Navalny's allies had been working since the start of the Ukraine war on a plan to get him out of Russia as part of a prisoner exchange involving "Russian spies in exchange for political prisoners". She said they had made desperate efforts and tried to find intermediaries, even approaching the late Henry Kissinger, but said Western governments had failed to show the necessary political will. "Officials, American and German, nodded their heads in understanding. They recounted how important it was to help Navalny and political prisoners, they shook hands, made promises and did nothing."
Unfortunately most of these people will be afraid after the Dictator Putin locks them up. Navalny supporters chant 'We are not afraid' as crowds gather in Moscow for funeral NPR - https://tinyurl.com/yeyjpfth
Alexei Navalny to be buried in Moscow today, presumably together with everyone who attends his funeral. ‘They don’t care about the optics’: in Navalny’s funeral, echoes of dissidents past The official response to the deaths of opposition figures is a sure guide to the state of repression and freedom in Russia https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...xei-navalny-funeral-echoes-of-dissidents-past
Hackers stole Russian prisoner database to avenge death of Navalny https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/31/politics/navalny-russian-prisoner-database-hack?cid=ios_app Within hours of opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s death in February in a Russian prison, a group of anti-Kremlin hackers went looking for revenge. Using their access to a computer network tied to Russia’s prison system, the hackers plastered a photo of Navalny on the hacked prison contractor’s website, according to interviews with the hackers, screenshots and data reviewed by CNN. “Long live Alexey Navalny!” read a message on the hacked website, accompanied by a photo of Navalny and his wife Yulia at a political rally. In a stunning breach of security, they also appear to have stolen a database containing information on hundreds of thousands of Russian prisoners and their relatives and contacts, including, the hackers claim, data held on prisoners in the Arctic penal colony where Navalny died on February 16. The hackers, who say they are a mix of nationalities, including Russian expatriates and Ukrainians, are sharing that data, including phone numbers and email addresses of prisoners and their relatives “in the hope that somebody can contact them and help understand what happened to Navalny,” a hacker claiming to be involved in the breach told CNN. In addition, the hackers used their access to the Russian prison system’s online commissary, where family members buy food for inmates, to change the prices of things like noodles and canned beef to one ruble, which is roughly $0.01, according to screenshots and videos of purchases from the online store posted by the hackers. Normally, those goods cost over $1. (Much more at above url)