Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in prison, the country’s prison service said, in what will likely be considered a political assassination attributable to Vladimir Putin.
Navalny, 47, one of Putin’s most visible and persistent critics, was being held in a prison about 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle where he had been sentenced to 19 years of “special regime.” In a prison video in January, he had appeared gaunt and with a shaved head.
“Medical personnel from the facility immediately arrived on the scene and an emergency medical team was called. All necessary resuscitation measures were performed, but were unsuccessful. Emergency doctors confirmed the death of the detainee,” the Moscow judicial authority said. According to Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency, Navalny reportedly felt ill and lost consciousness.
According to Russia’s Federal Prison Service, an investigation into the cause of death is underway and a commission of inquiry has been sent to the penal colony where the death occurred.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that Moscow authorities have no information about the death and that beyond investigations at the Federal Prison Service and no further instructions are needed from the Kremlin. regarding the ongoing investigation.
“As far as we know now, in accordance with current procedures, the Federal Prison Service is engaged in the inspections and clarifications of the case, so no further instructions are necessary,” he explained, adding that the cause of death will have to be ascertained “by doctors.”
