Elon Musk’s X has restored the account of Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, after a short and unexplained suspension.
Ms. Navalnaya was banned for about 20 minutes Tuesday. The suspension was noticed almost immediately by her allies, who pleaded with Mr. Musk to restore her profile. Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation tagged Mr. Musk on X and asked him to explain what rules Ms. Navalnaya violated.
Neither Mr. Musk nor Ms. Navalnaya has commented on the suspension. At the time of the ouster, she was followed by more than 90,000 people.
While it’s not clear what caused the suspension, many X users pointed out that it came one day after she vowed to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible for her husband’s death in a Siberian prison Friday.
“No sooner does @Yulia_Navalnaya hold Putin responsible for her husband’s death (true) and vow to take up his fight for democracy and against corruption in Russia (100% admirable) than @ElonMusk’s Twitter/X suspends her account? Huh?” Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, posted on X.
Ms. Navalnaya created the account Monday and is using it to campaign for access to her late husband’s body.
Navalny died while serving a 19-year prison sentence for inciting and funding extremist activities. He was one of the country’s most prominent Kremlin critics, and his death has shocked and enraged Russia’s enemies. Several international leaders, and Ms. Navalnaya, have held Mr. Putin responsible for Navalny’s death.
The Kremlin has denied the accusations and has urged the international community to withhold judgment until a formal medical examination is conducted.
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled the name of Alexei Navalny.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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