Russia: Alexei Navalny’s opponent died in prison

He was a leading opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Alexei Navalny, who was in a correctional colony, died this Friday in prison, the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service reported. “On February 16, 2024, in penitentiary institution No. 3, prisoner A.A. Navalny. felt unwell after a walk (…) the cause of death is being established,” says the message from the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Yamal Arctic.

Alexei Navalny, the 47-year-old Russian president’s number one enemy, was serving a 19-year prison sentence for “extremism.” He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning from Russia after recovering in Germany from a poisoning he blames on the Kremlin, and has since alternated between solitary confinement and more or less strict detention conditions.

He was recently transferred to a remote penal colony in the Arctic. He arrived at this new pre-trial detention center, located in Yamalo-Nenets, at the end of December, after a long transfer, during which his relatives did not receive any news, which raised concerns abroad. His supporters said Russian authorities were seeking to further isolate him ahead of the March presidential election, after which Vladimir Putin’s victory seemed inevitable.

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