Navalny appears at a court hearing the day before his death/Reuters
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison on Friday, suffered a "convulsive attack" and his body was found with signs of trauma from the attempts to save his life - this was reported by a Russian media outlet, citing a paramedic at the ambulance services in the town of Salkhrad where his body is being held.
The medic, quoted by the Russian opposition-affiliated Novaya Gazeta Europa, said Navalny appeared to have suffered a cardiac arrest, but it was unclear what led to it.
Navalny, a former lawyer who exposed corruption in the Kremlin, was imprisoned for more than 30 years in the Arctic penal colony "Polar Wolf", located about 1,900 km northeast of Moscow. According to the prison service, he collapsed and died during a march, but many believe because he was eliminated on the orders of President Vladimir Putin.
According to the Russian human rights organization gulagu.net, two intelligence officers disconnected several closed-circuit cameras and recording devices in the penal colony, although it is not known for its credibility. However, the site was the first to publish the Wagner group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, recruits mercenaries from Russian prisons.
Navalny's mother, Lyudmila, arrived at the prison yesterday to claim his body, but was told that it was being held in the morgue in the town - which was closed. The authorities insist that the body will only be released after the investigation, and it has not yet been carried out The post mortem.
Alexei Navalny next to his wife Yulia/screenshot, Instagram
Western leaders, led by US President Joe Biden, blamed Putin for his death.
Silent memorial rallies were held in various cities in Europe and the United States, and flowers, candles and pictures of Navalny were placed outside Russian missions.
The Kremlin said that the West's response was unacceptable and "absolutely bigoted".
Putin, who never referred to Navalny by name, has yet to comment on his death, but according to the Kremlin, he was informed about it.
More than 400 people were arrested across Russia yesterday during quiet memorial rallies in Navalny's honor.
His wife, Yulia Navalnya, promised that Putin would be "punished" for her husband's death.
"I love you," she wrote today alongside a joint photo of the two of them that she posted on her Instagram account.
More on the same topic:
Russia
Alexei Navalny