Alexei Navalny death latest: Russian spies ‘visited opposition leader’s prison’ days before death

In Russia’s Arctic, Alexei Navalny’s mother searches for her son’s body

For the mother of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died at age 47 in an Arctic penal colony, the journey to recover her son’s body Saturday was an odyssey with no clear destination.

In the end, she didn’t get what she came for.

Full report:

Stuti Mishra18 February 2024 07:30

ICYMI: Prison claims Navalny died of ‘sudden death syndrome’

A note handed to Navalny’s mother stated that he died at 2:17pm Friday, according to Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh. Prison officials told his mother when she arrived at the penal colony Saturday that her son had perished from “sudden death syndrome,” Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A prison colony employee said the body was taken to the nearby city of Salekhard as part of a post-mortem investigation, Yarmysh said. When Navalny’s mother and one of the late politician’s lawyers visited the morgue in Salekhard, it was closed, Navalny’s team wrote on its Telegram channel. But the lawyer called the morgue and was told the body was not there, his team said.

Another of Navalny’s lawyers went to Salekhard’s Investigative Committee and was told that the cause of Navalny’s death had not yet been established and that new investigations were being done with the results to be released next week, Yarmysh said. Russia’s Investigative Committee informed Navalny’s team that the body would not be handed over to his relatives until those investigations were complete, she said.

Matt Mathers18 February 2024 07:00

There could be fresh sanctions against Russia, signals Cameron

David Cameron has signalled that there could be fresh sanctions against Russian officials, following the death of Alexei Navalny.

The foreign secretary joined other G7 ministers at the Munich Security Conference in calling on Russia to “fully clarify” how the jailed opposition leader died, amid pressure on Western leaders to respond.

Lord Cameron used the German gathering to repeat the UK’s call for countries to seize Russian central bank assets currently held in the West as one way of financing the reconstruction of Ukraine, The Times reported.

It comes as the second anniversary of the Russian invasion approaches, marked by confirmation that Vladimir Putin’s forces have taken complete control of the frontline city of Avdiivka.

PA

Stuti Mishra18 February 2024 06:30

Director of Navalny documentary ‘delighted’ wife Yulia addressed world leaders

Director of Navalny documentary ‘delighted’ wife Yulia addressed world leaders

The director of the Oscar-winning Navalny documentary has said he is “delighted and not surprised” by Alexei Navalny’s wife addressing world leaders in Germany hours after her husband’s death was reported.

Canadian Daniel Roher became close to the Navalny family when he interviewed them before the Russian opposition leader was sent to prison in 2021, and has continued to stay in touch with them.

The documentary filmmaker told the PA news agency: “The strength of Yulia Navalnaya (has) been well documented, we see it in her poise (and) grace, the sort of first lady in waiting status way that she facilitates herself.

“I was delighted and not surprised when I saw her… take that podium, for a very commanding two-minute address, where for a brief moment, she got to be the moral centre of the universe.

“I don’t know how the political structure of the organisation and Yulia will change in the next couple of weeks and months, but I know that the family is passionate and activated and now perhaps vengeful.”

He also said he has no “reason to be surprised” at the death of the Navalny, but he was “shocked” at hearing the news. “Anyone who follows the Navalny story or has seen the documentary for that matter knows how ever present this possibility lingered but in spite of that, I registered this as shock,” Mr Roher added.

Matt Mathers18 February 2024 06:00

Despite missiles, ‘flowers keep appearing’ across both Russian and Ukrainian cities under Moscow’s control

People are not just gathering in big cities like Moscow and St Petersburg, but smaller towns across Russia and occupied Ukrainian towns are also seeing flowers laid down in memory of Alexei Navalny.

From the border city of Belgorod, where seven were killed in a Ukrainian missile strike on Thursday, to Vorkuta, an Arctic mining outpost once a centre of the Stalin-era gulag labour camps, memorials were held, OVD-Info reported.

In Luhansk, a Ukrainian territory now under Russian control, residents laid flowers in Navalny’s honour at a monument commemorating the victims of the Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin, online news outlet SOTA reported.

In another city, flowers were laid at a monument to the heroes of the early 20th-century Russian Revolution.

“Despite the authorities’ attempts to remove the flowers, they keep appearing,” SOTA reported.

Stuti Mishra18 February 2024 05:30

Navalny will ‘live on forever in millions of hearts’ – head of anti-corruption foundation

Maria Pevchikh, head of the board of Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation, said the opposition leader would “live on forever in millions of hearts.”

“Navalny was murdered. We still don’t know how we’ll keep on living, but together, we’ll think of something,” she wrote on X.

Matt Mathers18 February 2024 05:00

In pictures: From France to India, people light candles and lay flowers in memory of Alexei Navalny

Stuti Mishra18 February 2024 04:30

ICYMI: How Alexei Navalny’s death could backfire for Putin

The Kremlin may hope his death serves as a deterrent to those toying with opposition activism, but in truth it makes the Russian president’s fiercest critic a hero and a martyr, writes Mary Dejevsky.

Read Mary’s piece in full here:

Matt Mathers18 February 2024 04:00

Over 400 people detained in Russia at events in memory of Navalny, rights group says

Over 400 individuals have been detained across 32 Russian cities since the death of Alexei Navalny, according to rights group OVD-Info.

The wave of arrests, the largest since September 2022, comes as Russians gather to lay flowers in Navalny’s memory.

The most significant detentions occurred in Moscow and St Petersburg, with over 200 people detained in the latter.

Despite ongoing protests and memorials, Russian state news agencies, under Kremlin control, have not reported on the events.

Navalny’s death leaves the opposition without its leading figure ahead of the March presidential election.

Stuti Mishra18 February 2024 03:30

ICYMI: Alexei Navalny – the man who knew too much

For a decade and more, he and his team deployed a mix of tenacity and mockery to probe the Mafia-style financial links between those at the top of Russian politics, security and business, writes John Kampfner.

Frozen out of state-controlled mainstream media, Navalny used every digital platform and every social media channel available to shine a light on Putin’s corrupt regime, surviving multiple poisonings and incarceration until he was finally – and inevitably – silenced by his greatest foe…

Read John’s piece in full here:

Matt Mathers18 February 2024 03:00