Australia on Monday imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on seven Russian prison officers it accuses of mistreating Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny in the prison where he died this month.
"Australia holds President Putin and the Russian government accountable for the treatment and death of Mr Navalny in custody," Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said in a statement.
Australia has joined Western voices pointing the finger at the Kremlin for the death of the Russian opposition leader, but the Kremlin has denied any involvement in his death. Australia has hit Russian individuals with multiple rounds of "Magnitsky-style" human rights sanctions since December 2022, when it first applied penalties to Russians accused of poisoning Navalny in 2020.
The United States and the European Union approved new sanctions against Russia last week in response to Navalny's death and Moscow's continued occupation of Ukraine.