Update
Putin’s fiercest opponent
Kremlin critic Navalny is dead
February 16, 2024, 12:25 p.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
He was the biggest challenger to Russian President Putin and had been harassed and persecuted by the Russian authorities for years. Alexei Navalny has now died in custody, according to the prison administration.
The critic of the Russian leadership, Alexei Navalny, is dead. The prison administration announced this. The 47-year-old has served years of imprisonment in a penal colony. Navalny was convicted, among other things, of alleged extremism.
His political movement was banned and close associates were imprisoned or fled abroad. In fact, he was one of the harshest critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his power apparatus.
After a poison attack in Russia, Navalny traveled to Germany for treatment. He returned to Russia in January 2021 and was immediately arrested.
According to a verdict handed down against him in the summer, Navalny had to spend his sentence in a colony with harsher prison conditions. These are usually only intended for life sentences and particularly dangerous prisoners.
More on that in a moment