Died in custody
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is dead, according to Russian authorities
Alexei Navalny in the Moscow District Court in 2021
© Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP / DPA
In December, Alexei Navalny was transferred to a prison camp behind the Arctic Circle. Now the prison administration has announced that the Putin critic died in custody. Navalny’s team said it had not yet received confirmation of the death.
According to Russian authorities, Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is dead. The 47-year-old “felt unwell” after walking outdoors on Friday and “almost immediately lost consciousness,” the prison administration of the northern Yamalo-Nenets region said on Friday. Medical personnel were called, but they were unable to revive Navalny. The cause of death is currently being determined. President Vladimir Putin was informed of Navalny’s death, state news agency Tass reported.
Navalny’s team said it had not yet received any confirmation of the opposition figure’s death. His lawyer Leonid Solovyov told the Kremlin-critical newspaper Novaya Gazeta: “I don’t comment at all on the decision of Alexei Navalny’s family.”
Navalny was sentenced to a total of more than 30 years in prison. The allegations ranged from fraud to extremism. He has always denied the allegations and described them as politically motivated. He and his supporters always countered that it was actually about suppressing criticism of Putin. His political movement was banned and close associates were imprisoned or fled abroad.
“Polar Wolf” penal camp is considered extremely harsh
In December he was transferred to the “Polarwolf” prison camp in the icy north of Russia. The prison is considered one of the toughest in Russia. In January, Navalny called for better prison conditions at a court hearing. Among other things, the meal breaks are too short. “I’m given two cups of boiling water and two pieces of disgusting bread. I want to drink this boiling water normally and eat this bread. I have ten minutes to eat. And I’m forced to choke on this boiling water,” he lamented at the time and appeared emaciated.
The prominent opposition politician was arrested in January 2021 after his return to Russia. In August 2020 he collapsed on a Russian flight. He was initially treated in Russia, then transferred to the Berlin Charité. Poisoning with a nerve agent was diagnosed there. The government in Moscow has denied allegations that Russian authorities tried to kill him.