The leading Russian opposition, critic and activist, Alexei Navalny, has passed away after being relocated to an arctic IK-3 penal colony in Kharp village in Yamalo-Nenets Oblast. He is known for mobilising large anti-government protests and founding an anti-corruption foundation. Platon Lebedev, who was a business partner of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, served a prison sentence in the same facility as Khodorkovsky until he was released in 2014. His whereabouts were unknown for nearly three weeks after he disappeared from a maximum security prison, IK-6, in the Vladimir region. Even though his lawyers had discovered his new location, they were still unable to gain access to the colony to visit him.
He was initially jailed in 2021 for nine years. Authorities recently extended his jail time to 19 years for extremism and fraud charges. His convictions are deemed politically motivated as his government transparency and accountability campaign stand in the way of the Russian authoritarian regime. Ukrainian president Zelensky believes that Navaly’s death was political and that Putin needs to be held accountable, as it is obvious this is a consequence of his regime.
On February 14th, Alexei Navalny's press secretary and assistant, Kira Yarmysh, reported that he had been sent to solitary confinement for the 27th time during his imprisonment. It has been reported that he started feeling unwell after a walk and soon lost consciousness, even though he has not reported any health issues recently. His lawyer confirmed this as he was feeling fine on Wednesday, February 14th. He soon passed away despite the revival attempts by the emergency services, which arrived within seven minutes. Some sources have reported that a blood clot caused Navalny's death. However, the official cause of death is yet to be determined.
According to critics, Navalny's recent relocation to a different facility was a strategic move ahead of the upcoming elections. The aim was to isolate him and his team and therefore prevent any further opposition attempts. As of now, Navalny's team has not received any confirmation regarding his death. However, his lawyer is en route to the Harp colony, and more information is expected to be reported soon.
The suspicion regarding the circumstances of his death is justified after his 2020 poisoning with Novichok nerve agent, which left him hospitalised. The poisoning occurred during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow. He was hospitalised in Omsk; however, he was soon relocated to Berlin, where he made a full recovery. In his 2020 self-titled documentary, a phone call with FSB Officer Konstantin Kudryavtsev revealed that the poisoning was applied in his underwear, and his life was saved due to the slow absorption of the position and quick response of the medical team. The FSB and Putin dismissed these claims; however, Bellingcat confirmed it as a direct witness. The president stated that they are not in the habit of killing anyone, although these claims have been put into question by foreign and international courts.
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