Bono leads crowds chanting ‘Alexei Navalny’ at U2 Las Vegas Sphere residency: ‘The people who believe in freedom must say his name’

Bono honored the late Russian dissident Alexei Navalny at a U2 show at the Las Vegas Sphere over the weekend.

The 63-year-old U2 frontman led the crowd at Saturday’s concert at the band’s residence chanting Navalny’s name following his mysterious death in a Siberian prison.

“Apparently Putin would never, ever say [Navalny’s] name. So I thought tonight: people who believe in freedom should say his name. Not just remember it, but say it,” an impassioned Bono told the crowd at the Sphere.

Before performing Don’t Dream It’s Over by Crowded House, Bono also expressed his support for the people of Ukraine and his opposition to Vladimir Putin.

‘Next week will mark two years since Putin invaded and attempted to destroy hard-won freedoms. [of the Ukrainian people] Bono said.

‘Next will be Poland, next will be Lithuania, East Germany… who knows where this man will or won’t go.

‘For these people, freedom is not just the word in a song. For these people, freedom is the most important word in the world, so important that Ukrainians fight and die for it. And it is so important that Alexei Navalny decided to give it up.

Bono was referring to Navalny’s decision to return to Russia knowing that he would be arrested and sent to Siberia upon landing for his fierce opposition to the tyrant Putin.

Details of Navalny’s death were still unclear as of Monday, and Russian authorities said his body would not be released for 14 days.

The news sparked shock and anger around the world, with world leaders and commentators quick to point the finger at the Kremlin.

Navalny was “brutally murdered by the Kremlin,” Latvia’s president declared, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was “obvious” that Putin had ordered the dissident’s murder.

President Joe Biden, for his part, blamed Putin for Navalny’s death, telling reporters that he was “not surprised” and also “outraged” to learn that the 47-year-old Russian opposition leader had died and that I was looking for ways to fix it. reply.

As Putin’s fiercest enemy, Navalny crusaded against official corruption and organized mass anti-Kremlin protests, prompting ruthless retaliation from the Kremlin.

He once survived an assassination attempt involving the nerve agent Novichok, but returned to his homeland when he recovered, despite knowing he would be arrested.

He had since been serving time on extremism charges after being sentenced to 19 years behind bars, and in December he was transferred from a prison in central Russia to a “special regime” penal colony known as “Polar Wolf.” ” over the Arctic Circle.

He was last seen via video link during a court hearing on Thursday.

Dressed in the black prison uniform, he seemed to be in good spirits: his trademark humor was showing again.

“Your Honor, I will send you my personal account number so you can use your enormous salary as a federal judge to ‘warm up’ my personal account, because I am running out of money,” he said.

Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila, said she had seen her son in the penal colony on Monday. At that time, she said: “He was alive, healthy, happy.”

But the Federal Penitentiary Service said in a statement today that Navalny felt unwell after a walk and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived to try to save him, but to no avail.

Bellingcat journalist Christo Grozev, a Navalany ally who has closely followed his trial, said: “I have no doubt that Alexei Navalny’s death is not natural.”

‘Even Russian propaganda channels, linked to the special services, described this as a political assassination. Who are we to doubt his own words?