X social media platform restores account of Navalny’s widow

The X social media platform on Tuesday restored the account of Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, after a brief suspension.

X, formerly Twitter, said the site’s defense mechanism against manipulation and spam had “mistakenly flagged” Navalnaya’s account as violating its rules.

“We unsuspended the account as soon as we became aware of the error, and will be updating the defense,” X Safety said in a post on Tuesday.

Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation had earlier tagged Elon Musk in a post to ask “exactly which rules were violated” by Navalnaya. Accounts of Navalny’s allies, such as spokesperson Kira Yarmysh, did not appear to have been affected.

Navalny, 47, was a high-profile and vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He died on Friday in an Arctic penal colony, where he had been serving a 19-year prison term.

The news sparked international outcry, with many political leaders holding Putin responsible for the anti-corruption campaigner’s demise. Navalnaya had said on Monday that she believed her husband was killed by Putin and vowed to continue his work to fight for a free Russia.

Prior to her account’s temporary suspension, Navalnaya had posted a video message accusing Putin of being responsible for her husband’s death and called on Russian citizens to rally around her in the fight to secure a free country.

The Kremlin has rejected these allegations, with the Russian foreign ministry calling the reaction from political leaders “self-exposing,” given that no forensic medical examination has yet been made available.

Russia said on Monday that an investigation into Navalny’s death is ongoing and has insisted “all due actions are being taken.”

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