(LONDON) — Alexei Navalny, the longtime Russian opposition politician and critic of Vladimir Putin — often considered to be a vocal and prominent thorn in the side of the Russian government — has died in prison at age 47, according to the prison service.
“On 02/16/2024, in correctional colony No. 3, convicted Navalny A.A. felt ill after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness. The medical staff of the institution immediately arrived, and an ambulance team was called. All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not give positive results. The doctors of the emergency medical service pronounced the convict dead,” the release says.
Not long after the Russian government said Navalny had died, Navalny’s spokeswoman said, — for now — they have no confirmation of his death and that they will address the public as soon as they have more information.
“For now we have no confirmation of that. Alexey’s lawyer is flying now. As soon as we will have any kind of information we will provide it,” Kyra Yarmysh, Navalny’s spokeswoman wrote on X.
Navalny was being held in an Arctic prison camp, after being transferred there in December.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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