New Delhi, February 16: Staunch critic of Vladimir Putin and jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny was declared dead by the Russia's prison agency on Friday, February 16. The prison authority, in a statement announced Navalny's death, saying that he experienced discomfort after a walk, lost consciousness, and died. Alexei Navalny was serving a 19-year jail term at the time of his death. The sudden death of Putin’s critic has raised eyebrows and sparked speculations.

Who Was Jailed Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny

Alexei Anatolievich Navalny was the most prominent opposition leader and a vociferous critic of the Russian president Vladimir Putin. The 47-year-old was being imprisoned in at Arctic prison colony about 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle. In August of last year, a Russian court handed him an additional 19-year prison sentence for an extremism conviction. Navalny has been behind bars in Russia since January 2021, following his return to Moscow from Germany, where he had been recovering from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. In a video that has circulated on social media, allegedly shows Navalny appearing before a court on February 15 via video link and reportedly looked fit. Alexei Navalny Dies: Imprisoned Russian Opposition Leader Who Criticised President Vladimir Putin Passes Away in Prison at 47.

Career

Navalny was a lawyer and social activist. He was the leader of the Russia of the Future party and founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). He had led several protests against the government and the Russian elite whom he accused of vast corruption, avarice and opulence. He was also a Russian Opposition Coordination Council member. Alexei Navalny Dies: Imprisoned Opposition Leader Has Died in Jail, Says Russia’s Prison Service.

Amnesty International Awardee

The Russian lawyer and anti-corruption activist was recognised by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience, and was awarded the Sakharov Prize for his work on human rights. Through various social media platforms, Navalny and his team have published material about corruption in Russia, organised political demonstrations and promoted his campaigns. He had over six million YouTube subscribers in 2021. He probed Putin's close friends and spearheaded campaigns against election fraud and corruption.

Navalny had earlier accused Russian government of trying to assassinate him, which the Putin government vehemently denies. Meanwhile, Kremlin denied to give details about the incident and said that they had no information regarding the cause of death. The Investigative panel said that Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a procedural probe into the death of the opposition leader.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 16, 2024 07:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).