Feb. 16 (UPI) — Russia’s prison service said on Friday that Alexei Navalny, the country’s most prominent opposition leader, died while in custody but his passing has yet to be confirmed by family and supporters.
Russia’s Federal Prison Service said that Navalny, 47, who was in a penal colony in the Yamalo-Nenets region, died after reportedly not feeling well after a walk and losing consciousness.
“The facility’s medical workers immediately arrived at the scene and an emergency medical team was called in,” the service said. “All necessary resuscitation measures have been carried out but they did not yield positive results. Emergency medics confirmed the death of the convict.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been informed of Navalny’s death but did not offer any additional details.
Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, said in remarks at the Munich Security Conference that she was unsure if they should believe the “terrible” news coming only from Russia’s official media.
“We cannot believe Putin and his government, they are lying constantly,” she said.
Navalnaya said, however, if the reports of her husband’s death were true that Putin and his government should be punished.
“They will be brought to justice and this day will come soon,” she said.
News of the unconfirmed death took some of his supporters by surprise. An attorney for Navalny could not confirm his death early Friday. Lawyer Solovyev told the Russian independent media outlet Novaya Gazeta that another attorney saw Navalny on Wednesday and “everything was normal then.” The Guardian reported.
“The Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug is spreading the news of Alexei Navalny’s death in IK-3,” said Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said on X. “We have no confirmation of this yet. Alexei’s lawyer is currently on his way to Kharp. As soon as we have some information, we will report on it.”
The reported death comes two months after Navalny briefly went missing in the Russian prison system. He was serving 30 years on extremism and fraud charges in the Vladimir region and was later found by his supporters at a prison 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
European Council President Charles Michel said the Russian government will be held responsible for Navalny’s death.
“I extend my deepest condolences to his family and to those who fight for democracy around the world in the darkest conditions,” Michel said. “Fighters die. But the fight for freedom never ends.”
French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said Navalny challenged Putin and paid for it with his life.
“His death in a penal colony reminds us of the reality of Vladimir Putin’s regime,” he said.
Navalny had been detained since 2021 when he returned to Moscow after recovering in Germany from a poisoning that left him temporarily in a coma.
Navalny became ill while on a flight from Siberia to Moscow. His supporters eventually took him to Germany to recover. Physicians there determined he had been poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.
