‘Navalny’ director: ‘Of course they murdered him’

Daniel Roher, director of the award-winning “Navalny” documentary, blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the death of prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny in an interview published Sunday.

“It’s the most obvious story: Of course they murdered him,” Roher told The Washington Post, referring to Russian officials, in an interview conducted the day Russia’s prison service announced Navalny’s death.

“The fashion in which they did it is so brazen and so overt. It is almost as if they had rented out a billboard to say to anyone else who thinks about being in the opposition, ‘This is what’s going to happen to you,’” he continued.

Roher further pointed to the high-energy messages Navalny made in the days before his death was announced — including a heartfelt message to his wife for Valentine’s Day and his appearance by video in court, in which, Roher said, “He was jovial and he was sarcastic and being his typical shit-stirring self, making the prison guards laugh.”

“The man’s humanity was clearly intact. His health was vital,” Roher continued. “So for him to just drop dead, seemingly overnight, the culprit is Putin. That is clear. The technical point of how they did it and who did it, we will know that in time. But today I’m just mourning.”

The Russian prison service said Navalny began feeling unwell after a walk and lost consciousness. While there has yet to be an official cause of death announced, U.S. officials have similarly placed blame on Putin.

“Reports of his death, if they’re true, and I have no reasons to believe they’re not — Russian authorities are going to tell their own story,” President Biden said Friday, responding to Navalny’s death in remarks from the White House.

“But make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death. Putin is responsible. What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled,” Biden continued.

Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, which Navalny and U.S. officials have denounced as politically motivated. Navalny survived being poisoned in 2020 and still returned to Russia, knowing he would be imprisoned.

Navalny has blamed the poisoning on Putin, who has denied involvement in the assassination attempt. However, in “Navalny” — which won the 2023 Oscar for best documentary — he was shown calling up an agent of the kill team suspected of trying to kill him. Navalny pretended to be a top Russian official and got the agent to describe how they attempted to poison Navalny.