Here's what we know about the cause of Navalny's reported death
The Russian government has announced the death of Alexei A. Navalny without providing many details. Here's what we know about Mr Navalny's fate and what happens next.
Cause of death: Announcing Mr Navalny's death, Russia's prison service said he suddenly felt unwell while out for a walk. The medical responders who arrived in an ambulance to care for him had “performed all required resuscitation procedures,” without success.
A doctor who works near Mr. Navalny's prison, above the Arctic Circle told independent Russian news channel Mediazona that the nearest ambulance team is 35 kilometers away from the prison. By the time it arrived, a patient in serious distress would already be dead, said the doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Who were they resuscitating?” he added.
President Biden said during an appearance at the White House: “We don't know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that Navalny's death was the result of something that Putin and his thugs did.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry S. Peskov resorted to the government's usual legal language in commenting on Mr. Navalny's death, without providing additional details. Mr Peskov said on Friday that the prison service is “carrying out all checks and procedures in accordance with all existing rules”, adding that the cause of death is being determined.
Some state media went further, saying Mr Navalny died of a blood clot, without giving the source of that claim.
These claims could not be independently verified. But a former mid-level Russian prison official said they should be treated with caution. Anna Karetnikova, who oversaw pre-trial detention centers in the Moscow region, said in her experience “blood clotting” was a common abbreviation for fatal cases that prison authorities had no intention of investigating.
Next steps: Mr Navalny's team said on Friday that his lawyer was flying to prison to establish the facts. They did not immediately confirm the death, adding that the family had yet to be officially notified.
Russian law requires families of prisoners to be notified within 24 hours of their relative's death.
The former prison official said that when someone dies in prison, protocol dictates that his body be immediately taken to a mortuary. This means the lawyer is unlikely to find the body when they arrive at the prison, she added.
Under Russian law, the receiving mortuary must conduct an autopsy on Mr Navalny's body. The family is entitled to see the autopsy report, but they may not receive it until a week after the procedure, the former prison official added.
Alina Lobzina reporting contributed.