VP Harris reacts to reports that Navalny is dead: “Whatever story they tell, let us be clear: Russia is responsible.”

Vice President Kamala Harris reacted to reports that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in prison at the Munich Security Conference on Friday morning.

Navalny died less than a month before Russia’s election that will give Vladimir Putin six more years of power, and as he served a prison sentence widely viewed as political punishment following a poisoning attempt believed to have been ordered by the Russian government. Supporters of Navalny and western officials are calling the opposition leader’s death a political assassination.

“We’ve all just received reports that Alexei Navalny has died in Russia. This is, of course, terrible news, which we are working to confirm,” the vice president said from the podium.

“My prayers are with his family, including his wife, Yulia, who is with us today,” Harris continued. “If confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putin’s brutality.”

“Whatever story they tell, let us be clear: Russia is responsible,” Harris added.