Business Day

Russia still not giving official cause of Navalny’s death

• Mother and lawyers not allowed into the morgue after authoritie­s earlier blamed ‘sudden death syndrome’

- Guy Faulconbri­dge and Filipp Lebedev

Russian investigat­ors had yet to determine the official cause of opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s death, his spokespers­on said on Monday, after prison authoritie­s said he suddenly dropped dead following a walk in the “Polar Wolf” penal colony.

Navalny’s death robs Russia’s disparate opposition of its most charismati­c and courageous leader as President Vladimir Putin prepares for an election that will keep him in power until at least 2030.

The West and Navalny’s supporters have dismissed the Russian prison service’s statement on Friday that the 47-yearold former lawyer had lost consciousn­ess and died. Western leaders said Putin was responsibl­e for Navalny’s death, a stance the Kremlin condemned on Monday as “obnoxious”.

Putin has made no public comment, but Navalny’s death has deepened a gaping schism in relations between Moscow and the West caused by the two-year Ukraine war.

Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila, was told on Saturday at the prison colony that he had perished from “sudden death syndrome”, a vague term for different heart conditions that end in death, according to Navalny’s team.

Navalny’s spokespers­on, Kira Yarmysh, said his mother and lawyers were informed that the official verificati­on of the cause of death had been extended and that it was unclear how long it would take.

“The cause of death is ‘undetermin­ed’,” said Yarmysh, who accused the Russian authoritie­s of lying and stalling.

His mother and lawyers were not allowed into the morgue on Monday in the Arctic town near the prison colony where the authoritie­s said he dropped dead, Yarmysh said.

“Asked if Alexei’s body was there, the staff did not answer,” said Yarmysh.

Navalny had been incarcerat­ed at the IK-3 penal colony north of the Arctic Circle located in Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets region about 1,900km northeast of Moscow.

Just the day before his death, Navalny was shown joking in court via a video link to court. He teasingly suggested the judge use some of his vast salary to top up Navalny’s own account.

US President Joe Biden on Friday blamed “Putin and his thugs” for Navalny’s death and warned there could be consequenc­es.

Other Western leaders have also pointed the finger at the Russian president. Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, and the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borell, said on Monday the bloc would seek new sanctions against Russia.

Responding to the Western criticism, Kremlin spokespers­on Dmitry Peskov told a regular news briefing on Monday: “We consider it absolutely unacceptab­le to make such, well, frankly obnoxious statements.

“These statements, of course, cannot cause any damage to our head of our state.”

Peskov said the investigat­ion into Navalny’s death was ongoing and was being conducted in accordance with Russian law.

Asked by reporters how Putin reacted to news of the death, Peskov said: “I have nothing to add.”

The West has already imposed on Russia what it says are already the toughest sanctions yet imposed on a major economy over the Ukraine war. Russia’s economy grew 3.6% in 2023.

Navalny’s death came just as Russian forces made their biggest advance in Ukraine since May 2023 and as the West debates how much more support to give to Kyiv after a counteroff­ensive in 2023 failed to pierce Russian lines.

In Moscow, St Petersburg and dozens of other Russian cities, people have laid flowers at monuments to the victims of Soviet-era repression, though many of the flowers and candles were then removed by unidentifi­ed men, witnesses said.

Authoritie­s have detained about 390 people in 39 Russian cities since Navalny’s death, rights group OVD-Info said.

“I love you,” Yulia, the widow of Alexei Navalny, said on Sunday in a post on Instagram beside a picture of them together, which showed their heads touching as they watched a performanc­e.

Yulia Navalnaya, a graduate of the prestigiou­s Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, always supported her husband in his battles with Russian authoritie­s, attending his many court appearance­s, standing beside him at rallies and waiting for his release from many prison terms.

Borrell said Navalnaya would attend a meeting of the EU’s foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

JUST THE DAY BEFORE HIS DEATH, NAVALNY WAS SHOWN JOKING IN COURT VIA A VIDEO LINK TO COURT

 ?? /Reuters ?? Seeking the truth: Vasily Dubkov, lawyer for the Navalny family, arrives at the regional prosecutor‘s office in the city of Salekhard, Russia, on Monday. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died on Friday in a prison camp.
/Reuters Seeking the truth: Vasily Dubkov, lawyer for the Navalny family, arrives at the regional prosecutor‘s office in the city of Salekhard, Russia, on Monday. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died on Friday in a prison camp.

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