Australia Sanctions More Russian Prison Officials

Australia on March 1 issued another round of sanctions against Russian prison officials with ties to opposition figure Alexei Navalny's death (see 2402280017). The new designations apply to three Russian officials “linked to the prison” where Navalny died last month, the country’s ministry of foreign affairs said. Australia said it holds President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government “responsible for Mr Navalny’s treatment and death in prison” and called for “an independent and transparent investigation” into the issue. The announcement didn’t name the sanctioned prison officials.