Russian opposition leader and Putin critic Alexei Navalny dies in prison

Kathmandu. According to the prison administration, Alexei Navalny, who created the image of the strongest opposition leader in Russia in the last decade, died in prison. He was transferred from place to place and kept in the Arctic Circle Prison for some time.
Navalny, who is considered to be the harshest critic of the Russian president, was sentenced to 19 years in prison. Some believed that the charges against him were politically motivated. He was transferred to the Arctic Penal Colony, one of the harshest prisons, only last year.

Russian President Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that President Putin has been informed about the news of Navalny’s death. He appeared in a video of the court hearing a day ago. At that time, he was seen laughing as well as looking fine.

The prison administration said that he fell ill after walking on Friday. “He lost consciousness immediately,” said a prison official. It is said that even though the emergency services were immediately informed for his treatment, he could not be saved. Emergency doctors have declared the prisoner dead. Efforts are being made to identify the cause of death, said an official of the prison administration. Navalny’s lawyer said he would not immediately respond to Russian media.

Who is Navalny?
Navalny is a staunch critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Now 47-year-old Navalny has been accusing President Putin of being a corrupt person. He is an anti-corruption campaigner.

He tried to be a candidate in the 2018 presidential election, but he was not allowed to be a candidate due to allegations of financial embezzlement. He is read by millions of Russians on social media, and some of his supporters were even elected in local elections in Siberia in 2020. BBC