2024-02-17 15:57:54
Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most visible domestic opponent, whom he accused of trying to kill him, imprisoning him on false charges and depriving him of medical care, died on Friday at the age of 47. According to reports from Russia this Saturday, Navalny died of “sudden death syndrome” after collapsing.
This was reported by Russian investigators to the mother of the opposition leader, Lyudmila Navalnaya, when she visited the IK-3 Lobo Polar penal colony this morning, where he was being held.
However, Navalny’s allies say they were denied the opportunity to see the body, which would remain in the hands of authorities until the investigation was concluded.
In fact, the opponent’s lawyer, who arrived in the city of Salekhard with Navalny’s mother on Saturday, was allegedly informed by the prison that the body remained in the mortuary.
A person at the morgue later denied the body was there, leaving even more questions surrounding the shocking death of one of Putin’s staunchest critics.
“It is obvious that the murderers want to cover their tracks and that is why they do not hand over Alexei’s body, hiding it even from his mother,” his team said in a message on Telegram.
Police officers detain a man during a rally in memory of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny near the Wall of Sorrow monument to victims of political repression in Moscow, Russia February 17, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer
Shock over the death of the Putin critic has sparked a wave of vigils and protests across Russia, leading to the arrests of approximately 177 people.
Hundreds of flowers and dozens of candles could be seen at the memorial to the victims of Soviet repression in Moscow and more flowers could be seen left in the snow on nearby sidewalks.
It is worth mentioning that protests are illegal in Russia under strict anti-dissident laws, and authorities have cracked down especially harshly on rallies in support of Navalny.
Likewise, the sudden death of the former leader of the Anti-Corruption Foundation has provoked a strong response from sympathizers in places as far away as Japan, Poland, Finland, Bombay and San Francisco.
Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence for “extremism” and had just been transferred from his former prison in central Russia to a “special regime” penal colony above the Arctic Circle.
His allies then said they feared for his life after he “disappeared” in December to travel to the remote region, just months before next month’s Russian presidential election.
Navalny was last seen via video conference during a court hearing on Thursday. In fact, his mother said that she had seen her son in the prison colony on Monday: “he was alive, healthy, happy.”
Additionally, one of Navalny’s lawyers, Leonid Solovyov, told the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta that the Kremlin critic was “normal” when a lawyer saw him on Wednesday.
However, the Federal Penitentiary Service announced his death in a statement yesterday, stating that Navalny became unwell after a walk and lost consciousness. Thus, an ambulance arrived to try to save him, but “it was in vain.”
A woman places a flower next to photos of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, during a protest, following his death, in Plaza Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain, February 16, 2024. REUTERS/Nacho Doce
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