Alexei Navalny 'has died', says the Russian prison service where the opposition leader and Putin critic was imprisoned

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is dead, Russian reports claimed today, citing the Siberian Prison Service where he served his sentence.

The staunch critic of Vladimir Putin was last seen in January when he was transferred to a Russian penal colony in the Arctic Circle, smiling and laughing in court via video link. The hearing was for one of the many lawsuits he filed against the penal colony – this particular lawsuit challenged one of his stints in a “punishment cell.”

During the hearing, Navalny, 47, joked about the Arctic weather and asked whether officials at his former prison threw a party when he was transferred.

Navalny served a prison sentence on charges of extremism, and hHe had been sentenced to nineteen years in prison to prevent him from becoming president.

He had previously survived a suspected assassination attempt with a nerve agent on August 20, 2020. Despite knowing he would be detained, he later returned to Russia.

“On February 16, 2024, in Penal Colony No. 3, convict Navalny AA felt unwell after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness,” a statement said.

He spent months in isolation in Prison Colony No. 6 before being transferred to IK-6.

He was repeatedly placed in a small punishment cell for alleged minor infractions, such as improperly buttoning his prison uniform.

They also refused to give him his post, deprived him of writing supplies, denied him food he ordered and paid for in addition to regular meals, and did not allow visits from relatives, Navalny argued in his lawsuits, challenging his treatment.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow…