Opposition politician Alexei Navalny has died in a Russian penal colony. Navalny’s death was announced by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service. Navalny’s team stated that they have no confirmation of the politician’s death. What is known regarding this?
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Key facts
- “Today in correctional colony No. 3, convicted Navalny A.A. After the walk I felt unwell, almost immediately losing consciousness. Medical workers from the institution immediately arrived and an ambulance was called. All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, but did not yield positive results. Emergency doctors confirmed the death of the convict. The causes of death are being established,” the statement said.
- Alexei Navalny’s lawyer Leonid Solovyov said “Novaya Gazeta”that the defender was in the colony on Wednesday. “By decision of Alexei Navalny’s family, I am not commenting on anything at all. Let’s figure it out now. Alexey had a lawyer on Wednesday. Everything was fine then,” Soloviev said.
- Navalny’s team stated that they have no confirmation of the politician’s death. “Alexey’s lawyer is now flying to Kharpa. As soon as we have any information, we will report it,” the statement reads. message telegram channel of Navalny’s associates.
- Russian politician and public figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky blamed Putin for the death of Navalny. “If this is true, regardless of the formal reason, Vladimir Putin personally bears responsibility for the premature death, who first authorized the poisoning of Alexei and then put him in prison,” Khodorkovsky wrote on his telegram channel.
- Alexei Navalny was apparently killed by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, like thousands of others who were tortured, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “Obviously, he was killed by Putin, like thousands of others who were tortured because of this one creature. Putin doesn’t care who dies, as long as he maintains his position,” Zelensky said.
Context
On August 20, 2020, Navalny was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok, following which Alexey was hospitalized in serious condition. During the flight from Tomsk to Moscow, he felt weak and lost consciousness; following an emergency landing of the plane, he was taken to a hospital in Omsk and put into a coma. Two days later he was evacuated to the Charité hospital in Berlin. After six months of treatment, the politician returned to Russia. Immediately upon arrival at Sheremetyevo airport, Navalny was detained.
Russian authorities sent Navalny to correctional colony No. 3 in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in February 2021, declaring him guilty of fraud in the Yves Rocher case. Then the politician was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.
In March 2022, Navalny was also found guilty of fraud, and subsequently of insulting the judge, who sentenced him to nine years in a maximum security colony (for a combination of crimes).
In August 2023, Navalny was sentenced by the Moscow City Court to 19 years in prison in a special regime colony in the case of creating an “extremist community.” According to the Russian authorities, such a community was the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which he founded.
Before being transferred to the Yamal colony, the politician served time in a correctional colony in Melekhov, Vladimir Region.
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