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Isolation and hardly any medication: Putin opponent Alexei Navalny died under harsh prison conditions. Was there a deliberate Kremlin strategy behind this?
Moscow – In the end, any help came too late: Alexei Navalny is probably dead. This report from Russia spread rapidly around the world on Friday (February 16). According to the Russian judiciary, emergency paramedics from the Labytnangi hospital arrived at the prison within seven minutes and fought for the life of the Kremlin opponent for half an hour – but in vain.
But can that be true? According to official information, the emergency services would have had to travel around 35 kilometers between the hospital and the prison in the seven minutes, writes the independent Russian media platform Novaya Gazeta – and therefore doubts the information about the background to the death. And doubts actually seem more than appropriate.
After Navalny’s death: Biden blames Putin directly
The case is sensitive: Alexei Navalny was considered the greatest adversary of Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to the Russian justice system, the 47-year-old, who has been serving a 19-year prison sentence since 2021, collapsed and died on Friday after walking in the courtyard. Navalny’s employee Ivan Zhdanov said in the evening that Navalny was “most likely” dead. Official confirmation from the lawyers was still pending.
The death of the opposition politician, who returned to Russia in 2021 after a poison attack despite the threat of imprisonment, caused consternation in many countries. Politicians accused Putin and the Russian justice system of political murder – especially US President Joe Biden. We don’t know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that Navalny’s death was a result of Putin’s actions and those of his criminals, Biden said in the White House on Friday. “Putin is responsible.â€
The German federal government made a similarly clear statement. That’s what the Chancellor called Olaf Scholz (SPD) depressing Navalny’s death. It was very brave that he went back to Russia. Now he has “paid for this courage with his life,” says Scholz in Berlin. We now know exactly what kind of regime is in power in Moscow. “Alexei Navalny fought for a democratic Russia,” Finance Minister Christian Lindner also explained on the short message service X and added: “Putin tortured him to death for that. This is new, shocking evidence of the criminal character of this regime.â€
Sick in prison: Did the Kremlin consciously organize Navalny’s death?
Did the Kremlin actually have a hand in it? This will probably be difficult to prove. But the opposition’s supporters have long denounced a targeted, lengthy killing strategy. It is entirely possible that the authorities in Russia wanted to deliberately weaken Navalny and make him sick – and “not suddenly, but gradually,” Navalny’s lawyer Vadim Kobsev said in April 2023 warned. At that time, the Kremlin critic had lost more than eight kilos within a few days – and had apparently not received any medical treatment. Kobsev said at the time that medicines that had been sent to the prison by his mother were simply returned.
Navalny barely survived being poisoned with Novichok in 2020. After treatment in Berlin, he returned to Russia – and was immediately arrested in Moscow. This was followed by several convictions to a total of 19 years in prison. Nevertheless, Navalny continued to speak out critically about his lawyers and supporters, which is why he had to accept harassment in prison. He was transferred to isolation cells several times – despite the fact that his health continued to suffer setbacks. Since March, his lawyers have repeatedly reported various illnesses, whether back pain, paralysis in the leg, high potassium levels in the blood, fever or drastic weight loss. Concerns about Navalny continued to grow, not diminish.
The Kremlin apparently accepted this with approval. The news site Meduzza quoted two high-ranking security officials on Friday who blamed the poor prison conditions for Navalny’s death: The opposition politician “knew what he was getting into when he returned to Russia in 2021,” the report said. And further: “Sooner or later it had to happen.” Other bizarre reactions also came from Russia.
Navalny is another entry on the list of Putin victims
The death of Alexei Navalny joins a long list of opposition figures who have disappeared, emigrated or died in recent years. The deaths have almost everything in common: the exact causes and circumstances of death have always remained obscure to this day. Other Kremlin opponents are still alive, but have had to flee abroad and into exile. Here is an overview:
- Alexei Navalny: Died in custody
- Boris Nemtsov: Shot with four bullets
- Anna Politkovskaya: Shot in her apartment
- Vladimir Kara-Mursa: Sentenced to 25 years in prison
- Xenia Fadeeva: Sentenced to nine years in prison
- Oleg Orlov: Currently in court
- Mikhail Khodorkovsky: Fled into exile in London
- Boris Akunin: Classified as a “foreign agent” in exile
Source: AFP
Blame for Navalny’s death? Kremlin rejects allegations
What is happening in Russia cannot currently be independently verified. For its part, however, the Kremlin rejected the accusations from the West. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the reactions were “excessive” and “unacceptable,” according to the Interfax news agency. There is still no precise information from forensic experts and the prison system. There is therefore nothing more to say on the subject.
But it probably won’t bother Putin either. The re-election to the presidential office in Russia is coming up in March. And he no longer has to fear new heckles from Navalny from the camp. Kremlin officials told the magazine that this is not the case Meduzzathat the election could really be influenced by recent events. (jkf)