Navalny ‘killed on eve of prisoner swap with Russian hitman’
RUSSIAN opposition leader Alexei Navalny was about to be freed in a prisoner swap when he died, it was claimed yesterday.
Negotiations to exchange Mr Navalny and two other prisoners for a Russian hitman jailed abroad were in their final stages, according to his allies.
They have accused Vladimir Putin of Mr Navalny’s murder but the Kremlin has denied any involvement.
The exchange was being finalised on February 15, his close ally Maria Pevchikh said.
The politician was killed the next day because Putin could not tolerate the thought of releasing him, she claimed.
Speaking on YouTube, Ms Pevchikh said the Kremlin was negotiating the exchange in return for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian security service hitman jailed in Germany.
She added that former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was involved in some talks as a mediator with Putin. Mr Abramovich has not commented.
Ms Pevchikh, an investigative journalist and anti-corruption campaigner, said: ‘Alexei Navalny could be sitting in this seat right now, today.
‘It could and should have happened. Navalny should have been out in the next few days because we got a decision.
‘In early February, Putin was offered to exchange Vadim Krasikov for two American citizens and Alexei Navalny.’
Krasikov was jailed for life in Germany after he killed an exiled Chechen-Georgian dissident in Berlin in 2019.
The prisoner swap claims came as an unaired interview with Mr Navalny in 2020 saw him hit out at ‘corrupt officials’ living in London.
He said Putin’s elite sent their families and assets to Britain and the West did ‘nothing at all’.
In the interview, acquired by Sky News, he added: ‘Why do corrupt officials still live in London? Because these corrupt officials feed a huge number of wonderful London lawyers.’
During his interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, Putin signalled that he wanted the FSB officer back in Russia.
Prison authorities said Mr Navalny, 47, ‘fell ill’ after taking a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness, describing it as ‘sudden death syndrome’.
But his mother said he was healthy and in good spirits when she visited him four days earlier, and he was seen laughing and joking in a video-link court appearance on Thursday.
The last obstacle to Sweden joining Nato was removed yesterday when Hungary’s parliament voted to ratify the move.
‘Navalny should have been out’