Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny dies in remote prison: ‘Brutally murdered by the Kremlin’ Latvian president contends

Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critic, Alexei Navalny, died in a brutal penal colony Friday, having been locked up since returning home following a nerve agent poisoning widely assumed to have been an assassination attempt.

The Russian opposition leader was 47.

Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service claimed that “the convict” collapsed and died after he felt unwell during a walk at the IK-3 penal colony in remote Kharp, about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow.

However, the US joined other nations in bluntly blaming warmongering Russian President Putin.

“His death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. 6 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny (center) has died in prison, according to reports. AFP via Getty Images

“Russia is responsible for this.”

EU Council President Charles Michel said the European Union holds the Russian regime solely responsible.

“Alexei Navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy,” Michel said in a post on X. “For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice.”

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics likewise did not mince words, saying Navalny was brutally murdered by the Kremlin.

That’s a fact and that is something one should know about the true nature of Russia’s current regime, Rinkevics wrote on X. My condolences to the family and friends.” 6 Navalny is seen on a TV screen as he appears in a video link provided by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service from the courtroom in Kovrov, Vladimir region, about 150 miles east of Moscow on Jan. 10, 2024. AP 6 The entrance of the prison colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenetsk region about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow, Russia, Jan. 23, 2024. AP

Navalnys spokesperson, Kira Yarmish, tweeted Friday that they had had “no confirmation” yet.

Leonid Volkov, the former head of Navalny’s political organization, stressed: “We have no basis to believe state propaganda.

If it’s true, then it’s not ‘Navalny died,’ but only that ‘Putin killed him,’” he said.

Putin has been told about Navalnys death, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Russias Investigative Committee said it is investigating. 6 Russian President Vladimir Putin has been told about Navalny’s death, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. AP

The death announcement came soon after supporters raised concerns that the outspoken critic — who recently called for fresh protests against the upcoming election — had not been seen in weeks.

However, he continued sharing messages online from behind bars — the most recent two days ago with a tender Valentine’s message to his wife, Yulia.

 “Baby, everything is like a song with you: Between us, there are cities, the take-off light of airfields, blue snowstorms, and thousands of kilometers,” he wrote alongside a photo of them together. 

“But I feel you are near every second, and I love you more and more.” 6 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posed for a selfie with his family at Berlin’s Charite hospital on Oct. 7, 2020. Instagram account @navalny/AFP v

Navalny rose to prominence in Russia more than a decade ago by poking fun at the elite class around Putin and voicing allegations of corruption on a vast scale. 

He became known worldwide in August 2020 when he was poisoned in Siberia, which Western laboratory tests showed was an attempt to kill him with a nerve agent.

The Kremlin denied trying to kill him and said there was no evidence he was poisoned with a nerve agent.

After life-saving treatment in Germany, Navalny voluntarily returned to Russia in 2021, when he was immediately arrested and held in custody ever since. 6 Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny (from right), his daughter Daria, son Zakhar and wife, Yulia, arrive at a polling station during the Moscow city Duma elections on Sept. 8, 2019. AFP via Getty Images

Putin’s critics suggested that his death was inevitable.

Russian newspaper editor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov called his death “murder.”

“My sincere belief is that it was the conditions of detention that led to Navalny’s death … His sentence was supplemented by murder,” Muratov said.

With Post wires