Kremlin’s Most Prominent Critic Alexei Navalny Dies in Remote Arctic Prison
Yesterday, the news of Alexei Navalny’s death rocked the world. Russia’s most significant opposition leader for the past decade, Navalny, 47, died in an Arctic Circle jail. This was communicated by the prison service.
Spokeswoman Has Demanded That Navalny’s Body Be Handed Over To His Family Immediately
Alexei Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh on Saturday confirmed that Navalny was dead, citing an official notice given to Navalny’s mother, Lydumila. Yarmysh, posting on X, (formerly Twitter), demanded that Navalny’s body be immediately handed over to his family. The tweet stated,” Alexei Navalny was murdered. His death occurred on February 16 at 2:17 p.m. local time, according to the official message to Alexey’s mother.”
“An employee of the colony said that the body of Navalny is now in Salekhard. It was picked up by investigators from the IC. Now they are conducting “investigations” on him. We demand that Alexei Navalny’s body be handed over to his family immediately,” she said.
As President Vladimir Putin’s most vociferous critic, Navalny was serving 19 years on extremism charges that were widely considered as politically motivated. He was moved to one of Russia’s toughest and remotest penal colonies late last year.
His wife Yulia has appealed to the international community “to help punish this regime”.
One of his closest allies, Anti-Corruption Foundation chief Ivan Zhdanov, said it was “highly likely” Navalny had been killed and that a “murder had actually happened”.
The prison service in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets district where Navalny was being held said he had “felt unwell” after a walk on Friday.
In a statement it said he had “almost immediately lost consciousness”, adding that an emergency medical team had been called immediately and tried to resuscitate him but without success. “The emergency doctors declared the prisoner dead. Cause of death is being established,” it stated.
Navalny’s Death Has Sparked Outrage Across The World
Hours later, a steady stream of Muscovites laid flowers at a monument to victims of political repression opposite the Lubyanka, once home to Russia’s notorious KGB spy service. Navalny death has sparked an outrage across the world with several prominent leaders condemning the incident.
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