Russia: Prison officials say opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died

Russian Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service said opposition leader Alexei Navalny died Friday in the Arctic prison colony, where he was serving a 19-year sentence.

The prison service said Navalny fainted after taking a walk and could not be revived by doctors.

“After the walk, Navalny felt bad and almost immediately fainted. Medical staff arrived immediately and an ambulance team was called,” it said.

“Resuscitation measures were performed which did not yield positive results. Paramedics confirmed the death of the convict. The cause of death is being investigated.”

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had opened an investigation into his death.

NavalnyKira Yarmysh, press secretary, said her team had not been informed of his death.

“Alexey’s lawyers are now flying to Kharap,” where his prison colony is located, he said in a post on social media.

Russian news agencies, quoting his spokesperson, said that President Vladimir Putin has been informed about Navalny’s death.

Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, Navalny, 47, gained a large following with his criticism of corruption in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Despite Russia’s harsh anti-protest laws, his exposé, posted on his YouTube channel, was viewed millions of times and brought thousands of Russians to the streets.

He was jailed in early 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was recovering from a near-fatal poisoning attack with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.

In many cases he was sentenced to 19 years in prison on charges widely condemned by independent rights groups and in the West as retaliation for his opposition to the Kremlin.

Late last year he was moved to a decommissioned Arctic prison colony in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets region in northern Siberia.

The last post on Navalny’s Telegram channel, which he managed through his lawyers and team in exile, was a tribute to his wife Yulia Navalnaya, posted on Valentine’s Day.

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