Navalny's associates claim that Putin ordered him killed because his release was being negotiated. If the Kremlin is behind the opposition leader's death in prison, why eliminate him now? His allies say there was a plan to exchange him for a Russian hitman imprisoned in Germany.
Five sources told NBC News that a deal to free Navalny was in the works, although the exchange was not believed to be imminent when his death was announced on February 16. Two of them indicated that the agreement would have included journalist Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan.