France calls for 'independent' probe into Navalny death

A picture of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny hangs from a wall as people attend a vigil following his death, at the Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Feb. 19. Reuters-Yonhap

France on Tuesday called for an "independent" probe into the death of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny after summoning Moscow's envoy.

"France holds the Russian authorities fully responsible for the death of Alexei Navalny," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

France "calls for an independent and in-depth investigation," the ministry said, adding that Russia's ambassador had been summoned on Monday.

"France calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Russia and expresses in particular its deep concern over the critical state of health of opponent Vladimir Kara-Murza," the statement added.

On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron accused Moscow authorities of condemning "free spirits" to death.

Navalny, 47, died in his Arctic prison colony on Friday, Russian authorities said. The opposition politician's team says he was murdered.

Navalny barely survived a poisoning with the Soviet-designed nerve agent, Novichok, in 2020. Following treatment in Germany, he returned to Russia in 2021 and was immediately arrested and subsequently jailed.

Kara-Murza, a 42-year-old opposition activist, is serving a 25-year sentence in a Russian prison for criticising Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

He received the longest known sentence of all of Putin's jailed critics. (AFP)