17-2-2024 (MOSCOW) Kira Yarmysh, the spokeswoman for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, announced on February 17 that Navalny had died. This confirmation followed an official notice given to Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya. Ivan Zhdanov, a prominent Navalny ally, revealed on social media that Navalny’s mother and lawyer were informed of his death due to “sudden death syndrome.” The location of Navalny’s body remains unclear, and the cause of death is yet to be determined.
Navalny, a 47-year-old former lawyer, lost consciousness and died on February 16 after a walk at the Polar Wolf penal colony in Kharp, approximately 1,900 km northeast of Moscow. Despite serving a three-decade sentence at the facility, details surrounding his demise remain shrouded in uncertainty.
“We demand that Alexei Navalny’s body be given to his family immediately,” stated Yarmysh. According to the notice received by Navalny’s mother, he passed away at 2:17 pm local time on February 16.
Lyudmila Navalnaya, accompanied by Navalny’s lawyer, traveled on February 17 to the prison where her son had been held. The penal colony in Kharp is located in the Arctic Circle, approximately an hour’s drive from Salekhard, the administrative capital of the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous district.
