Navalny died from ‘sudden death syndrome,’ the prison told his mother

The mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny announced last weekend that her son had died of “sudden death syndrome” and that his body would not be released to his family until the investigation was complete, according to the director of Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation. He was informed.

Navalny, who made a name for himself campaigning against corruption and Russian President Vladimir Putin, died last Friday at the age of 47 in a remote penal colony in the Arctic Circle, Russian prison officials confirmed.

Russia’s Federal Prison Service said Navalny felt unwell after the walk and lost consciousness. An ambulance was called and crew attempts to rehabilitate him were unsuccessful. He was serving a 19-year sentence for extremism and had recently been transferred from another prison to the country’s highest-security facility near the Arctic Circle.

Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila, visited the penal colony where her son died on Saturday and received the official death report, which listed the time of death as 2:17 p.m. local time on February 16, Navalny reported. Official Kira Yarmis said. I wrote to X, Previously on Twitter.

“When Alexei’s lawyer and mother arrived in the colony this morning, they were told that Mr. Navalny’s cause of death was sudden death syndrome,” said Ivan Zhdanov, chairman of Mr. Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation. I wrote to X Saturday.

“Sudden death syndrome” is a common and vague term used to describe a variety of heart syndromes that can cause sudden cardiac arrest and death.

Yarmysh said Saturday that Navalny’s body was picked up by IC investigators and taken to the Russian town of Salekhard, about 30 miles south of Harb, where colony officials said Navalny died in prison. .

Yarmisz told the X program that when his mother and lawyer arrived at the Salekhard morgue on Saturday, it was closed.

“Although it is closed, the colony is functioning and we assure you that Mr. Navalny’s body is also there.” she wrote. “The lawyer called the number posted on the door. He was told that he was the seventh caller today. Alexei’s body is not in the morgue.”

Navalny’s team was initially informed on Saturday that no signs of criminal activity had been found. Reuters reported. However, one of his lawyers was subsequently informed by Salekhard’s Investigative Committee that his cause of death had not yet been determined and that new histological tests had been carried out. According to Yarmis. The commission added that it had confirmed that Mr Navalny’s body would not be handed over to his relatives until the investigation was completed.

“At the moment we do not have access to the body and we are not sure where it is. We demand that the Russian authorities immediately hand over Alexei’s body to his family,” Yarmysh said. Reuters interview Saturday.

Navalny’s death prompted scrutiny Criticism of Russia has come from around the world, with several world leaders placing the blame on Putin, who has not commented on his death.

The Kremlin called the Western reaction unacceptable and “completely fanatical,” according to Reuters.

Navalny has been imprisoned since 2021, when he returned to Russia after recovering from a nerve-acting poison he blamed on President Vladimir Putin. The Russian president denied his own allegations.