Russian jailers reported death of Russian opposition leader Navalny

Alexei Navalny. Photo: Getty Images
Alexei Navalny. Photo: Getty Images
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On the afternoon of 16 February, the Federal Penitentiary Service reported the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Penal Colony No 3 in the town of Kharp in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

Source: RIA Novosti

Quote: "On 16 February, in Penal Colony No 3, convicted Navalny A. A. became ill after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness. The institution's medical staff dispatched an emergency medical team as soon as they arrived."

Details: The jailers also stated that they appeared to have performed all necessary resuscitation procedures, which did not yield positive results. "Emergency doctors confirmed the convict's death. The causes of death are being established," the report stated.

For reference: Navalny, who had been supposedly trying to expose the Russian authorities and had been arrested more than once, was poisoned in Russia with Novichok. On 20 August 2020, he fainted on the plane, was taken to intensive care, and then fell into a coma. Navalny’s life was saved at the German Charité clinic. On 17 January 2021, after coming back from Germany, Navalny was detained. He was accused of failing to fulfil the obligations of a probationer in the Yves Rocher case. And on 2 February 2021, a court in Moscow ruled that Navalny should be imprisoned for more than 2.5 years in connection with the Yves Rocher case. On the same day, people took to the streets across Russia. Within hours, the number of detainees exceeded 1,000.

Background: 

  • Alexei Navalny has been imprisoned since early 2021. In August 2023, the Moscow City Court sentenced him to 19 years in prison in a special regime colony in an "extremism" case.

  • In December, the opposition leader was transferred to correctional facility No 3 Polyarnyi Volk (Polar Wolf), which is located in the village of Kharp in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

  • Correctional facility No 3 "has always served as a colony for particularly dangerous recidivists", the independent Novaya Gazeta wrote in 2006. Platon Lebedev, Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s business partner, served part of his term there.

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