Controversy over mysterious death ahead of next month’s presidential election
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny (48, photo), who was called a symbol of the Russian democracy movement, died in prison on the 16th (local time). Navalny, who was considered President Vladimir Putin’s biggest political opponent, died suddenly and mysteriously ahead of next month’s Russian presidential election.
According to the Russian state-run Interfax, the Russian Federal Correctional Service announced that Navalny, who was incarcerated at the 3rd prison of the Yamanenenets Autonomous Region in Siberia, died on this day. The Federal Correctional Service said, “Prisoner Navalny said he was not feeling well right after the walk and immediately lost consciousness,” adding, “Medics immediately performed necessary resuscitation, but ultimately confirmed his death. “The exact cause of death is being investigated,” he said in a statement.
Immediately after the statement, the Kremlin said, “We have reported Navalny’s death to President Putin,” and “the medical staff is responsible for determining the cause of death.” According to the British Guardian, Navalny recently received hospital treatment due to abuse and malnutrition in prison. However, Navalny’s lawyer Leonid Solovyov insisted, “Everything was fine when we visited on the 14th.”
Navalny, a former human rights lawyer, is a representative dissident who has criticized the Putin regime, saying, “There is no greater threat to Russia than the Putin regime.”
Request: “I want to eat Korean cup ramen leisurely”
Born near Moscow of Russian and Ukrainian descent, he majored in law and finance and also studied at Yale University in the United States. He later worked as a blogger and became famous nationwide for exposing corruption among Putin and his high-ranking officials. In particular, he ran in the 2013 Moscow mayoral election and showed off his popularity, garnering 27% of the vote, making the Russian regime nervous.
Navalny, who has become a tycoon, has faced threats to his life several times. In 2020, he collapsed after a poisoning attempt and was transported to Germany for treatment. The poison at the time was confirmed to be Novichok, a chemical used during the Soviet Union. It was reported that he was almost blind in one eye after being hit with green dye sprayed by a gunman in 2017.
Navalny, who returned to Russia in 2021, was indicted on charges of embezzlement and fraud, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison on additional charges. He was imprisoned in Melehovo Prison near Moscow and went missing after meeting with his lawyer in December of last year. It was only recently revealed that he, who gained notoriety as the ‘Arctic Wolf’, was indeed transferred to the 3rd prison of the Nenets Autonomous Region. Last month, he filed a lawsuit to abolish prison regulations restricting meal times, saying he wanted to leisurely enjoy ‘Paldo Dosirak’, a Korean cup noodle popular in Russia, but the Russian Supreme Court dismissed it.
If President Putin wins next month’s presidential election, he can serve as president until 2030. Politico, a U.S. political media outlet, evaluated that “Navalny was considered the only person who could mobilize Russians to organize rallies and stand up to the Kremlin.”
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.