THE jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died, announced the penitentiary authorities of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he was serving a 19-year prison sentence

“On February 16, 2024, in the penitentiary No. 3, the convict A. Navalny felt unwell after a walk, he almost immediately lost consciousness,” a related announcement emphasizes.

“Medics at the facility arrived immediately and an emergency medical team was called.

“All the necessary resuscitation measures were taken, but they did not yield positive results.

“Emergency doctors have confirmed the death of the convict(…) the causes of his death are under investigation,” the Russian prison service said in a statement.

Kremlin: Putin briefed – We are investigating

The Russian president Vladimir Putin informed of his death Alexei Navalnyas reported a while ago by the state news agency TASS, while the representative of the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov stated that the Russian prison authorities are proceeding with all the necessary checks regarding the death of the imprisoned dissident, but he has no information on the matter.

From his side, the chief of staff of Alexei Navalny, Leonid Volkov, says he has had no confirmation that the Putin critic has died.

He said in a post on the X platform that the prison service’s announcement could be interpreted as a “confession” that they deliberately killed Navalny and that they have no way of confirming the fact. At the same time, he notes that Navalny’s lawyer is on her way to the area where he was detained.

Russia’s Investigative Committee announced that they have opened a file on the case of Navalny’s death in prison

Russia’s Investigative Committee has announced that it has opened a file on the case of Alexei Navalny’s death in prison.

“The Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia is conducting a procedural check on the death of A. A. Navalny in the penitentiary No. 3,” reads a statement.

“According to the procedure defined by the law, a series of investigative and operational measures are being carried out in order to establish all the circumstances of the incident.”

International governments and NGOs say the Russian commission of inquiry takes its orders from the Kremlin.

Imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was placed in solitary confinement a few days ago for 10 days in an Arctic prison for failing to properly state his name to a guard, his spokeswoman said.

Navalny, 47, a former lawyer who rose to prominence more than 10 years ago by satirizing President Vladimir Putin’s elite and making accusations of widespread corruption, was in prison about 60 km north of the Arctic Circle.

Kira Jarmis, his spokeswoman, told Platform X last month that it was Navalny’s 25th time in solitary confinement and that he had spent 283 days in solitary confinement.

Navalny, who has been sentenced to remain in prison until the age of 74 on charges he says are trumped up and aimed at keeping him out of politics, had said he was forced to listen to a Putin-supporting pop singer. every morning at 5 after first listening to the Russian national anthem.