Russia’s most prominent opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, has died after collapsing and losing consciousness in the penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence for “extremism”, the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation (FSIN) said.
The cause of his death has not yet been determined. According to initial information from Russian sources, he died as a result of a broken thrombus.
In Russian media and TV news, however, the news was omitted or reported briefly.
Although the authorities announced the news this morning, Russia’s most popular television channel, Rossiya 1, did not include it in its bulletin. About 45 minutes passed before Russia’s second most popular TV channel, Channel 1, read the statement released by the prison authorities at the end of the program. Most of the reports did not even say who the deceased was or why he was in prison.
Navalny is another enemy of Russian President Vladimir Putin who lost his life under suspicious circumstances.
According to the official announcement of FSIN, Navalny felt ill after a walk, like “almost immediately lost consciousness”.
The medical specialists of the prison were called to the scene, but they were unable to revive him. They only confirmed his death.
“On February 16, 2024, in penal colony No. 3, convict Navalny A.A. felt bad after a walk, losing consciousness almost immediately. The medical staff of the institution immediately arrived, an ambulance team was called. All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out , which did not give positive results. The doctors of the Emergency Service established the death of the convict. The causes of death are in the process of being established.” is stated in the announcement on the FSIN website.
Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that The Kremlin has been notified of Navalny’s death.
The penal colony is located about 60 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle and about 1,900 kilometers northeast of the capital Moscow.
Inhuman conditions
Navalny has repeatedly raised the alarm about the harsh conditions in the prison, which he described as “torture”. He shared that he was deprived of sleep, did not receive medical care and was deliberately placed in a cell with a convicted murderer who suffered from serious illnesses and poor personal hygiene.
He was also not allowed any contact with his defenders or relatives.
Human rights activist Eva Merkachova told the publication Meduza that the death of Alexei Navalny was caused by the fact that he was sent to a penal isolation ward 27 times during his time in prison.
“The penal cell has very difficult living conditions. One actually freezes and starves there. That is why strict requirements were established that one could not be locked up there for more than a certain number of days. But there were no restrictions on the number of sent to isolation cells. That is , one term ends, they return the man to the squad, immediately call him to a new committee, say that there is a new offense, and the same day they send him back to the punishment cell. It’s monstrous, you know? says Merkachova.
Navalny was jailed upon his return to Russia in January 2021 from treatment in Germany following an alleged poisoning in August the previous year.
A charismatic activist, he appeared to be the only Russian opposition leader capable of mobilizing large numbers of people across Russia to participate in anti-government protests.
Navalny was finally killed by Putin today.
— Christo Grozev (@christogrozev) February 16, 2024
But in 2020, he was poisoned in Siberia with a substance that Western laboratories later confirmed was a nerve agent.
After his treatment abroad, he returned to Russia and was immediately arrested as charges and convictions poured in against him.
Another enemy of Putin loses his life
Navalny is another enemy of Putin who loses his life.
Last year, the mercenary leader Evgeny Prigozhin died after a plane carrying his name crashed north of Moscow with no survivors.
Alexander Litvinenkoa former KGB agent and outspoken critic of Putin, died in 2006 at the age of 43 after drinking green tea laced with polonium-210, a rare and powerful radioactive isotope, at London’s Millennium Hotel, British authorities said.
Alexander Perepilichny was found dead in November 2012 at his luxury mansion outside London after going out for a jog. He sought asylum in Britain in 2009 after helping a Swiss investigation into a Russian money-laundering scheme. His sudden death led to speculation that he may have been murdered.
Victor Yushchenkothen a Ukrainian opposition leader, was poisoned during the 2004 presidential election campaign in which he stood as the pro-Western candidate against pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
Anna Politkovskaa journalist who covered human rights abuses, was shot dead outside her apartment in Moscow on October 7, 2006, on her way back from shopping.
The former Russian double agent who passed classified information to British intelligence, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia were found in March 2018 unconscious on a bench outside a shopping center in the English cathedral city of Salisbury.
They were taken to hospital in a critical condition and British authorities said they had been poisoned with Novichok, a family of nerve agents developed by the Soviet military in the 1970s and 1980s. Both survived.
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