MOSCOW (AP) – Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's fiercest foe who fought official corruption and staged huge anti-Kremlin protests, died in jail Friday, Russia's jail company stated. He was 47.
The Federal Jail Service stated in a press release that Navalny felt unwell and misplaced consciousness after Friday's stroll. An ambulance arrived to attempt to rehabilitate him, however he died.
Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh stated on the X platform, previously often known as Twitter, that the politician's workforce had no affirmation of his demise but and that his lawyer was touring to town the place he was being held.
Navalny, who was serving a 19-year sentence on extremism expenses, was moved in December from his former jail in central Russia's Vladimir area to a “particular regime” penal colony – Russia's highest-security jail – above the Arctic Circle.
His allies condemned the transfer to the colony within the city of Kharp, within the Yamalo-Nenets area about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow, as one other try to silence Navalny.
The distant area is infamous for lengthy and harsh winters. Kharp is about 100 kilometers (60 mi) from Vorkuta, whose coal mines have been a part of the Soviet gulag jail camp system.
Navalny has been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recovering in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin. Earlier than his arrest, he campaigned in opposition to official corruption, organized massive anti-Kremlin protests and ran for public workplace.
He has since obtained three jail sentences, all of which he has dismissed as politically motivated.
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