Alexey Navalny updates: Russian opposition leader ‘dies in prison’

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To learn more about who Alexey Navalny was, you can read our story here.

And you can find a timeline of events since Navalny’s poisoning in 2020 here.

We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a recap of the day’s main events:

• Russia’s prison agency says Navalny has died at the age of 47 while serving a 19-year sentence at the IK-3 Arctic prison colony. He “felt unwell” after a walk and “almost immediately lost consciousness” and died, it said.
• In the documentary Navalny, directed by Daniel Rohr, the Kremlin critic said: “If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly strong.” His death comes weeks ahead of the presidential election on March 15-17.
• US officials openly say “Russia is responsible” for Navalny’s death in custody.
• Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accuses the US of making “sweeping accusations” over who is to blame.
• The United Nations says it is “appalled” at news that the Kremlin’s most prominent critic has died in prison and urges Russian authorities to “end the persecution”.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has blasted Western countries for pointing the finger at Moscow, saying their reaction is “absolutely unacceptable”, state media report.

Peskov said the reaction to reports of Navalny’s death was “hysterical” and their statements were “absolutely unacceptable”, the TASS news agency reported.

Ivan Zhdanov, an ally of Navalny, says in a live YouTube broadcast that if his death in a penal colony is confirmed, it would not be an “ordinary death” but a “political murder”.

He did not cite any evidence.

Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard says Navalny “paid the ultimate price for being a critical voice and championing freedom of expression”.

“As the search for justice begins, it is clear, there are few avenues at our disposal. That’s why it is crucial that the international community take concrete actions to hold all those responsible to account,” Callamard wrote in a statement.

“We must urgently call upon the United Nations to employ its special procedures and mechanisms to address the death of Aleksei Navalny.”

Callamard added that Navalny’s death comes after he was held for prolonged periods of time in solitary confinement, was forcibly disappeared and then sent to one of the most remote penal colonies in Russia. Russian authorities refused to properly investigate allegations of violations of his human rights, she said.

Despite his detention, Navalny was fanning opposition to Putin ahead of the presidential election on March 15-17.

His supporters argued it was not enough to vote against Putin because the Kremlin would rig the result, using an electronic voting system being deployed in a presidential election for the first time.

Instead, the sight of big crowds turning out at noon on March 17 would send a strong signal while not putting anyone at risk of arrest, Navalny said. “This can be a powerful demonstration of the mood of the country,” Navalny wrote on his Telegram channel, controlled by his team.

“This will be a nationwide protest against Putin that takes place near your home. It’s available to everyone, everywhere. Millions will be able to take part. And tens of millions will witness it.”

The Navalny camp also wants to use the campaign period to cold-call voters from outside Russia.

The prosecutor’s office has warned Russians against participating in a mass protest in the centre of Moscow.

“Please note that this mass event has not been coordinated with the executive authorities of the city in accordance with the procedure established by law,” the prosecutors said.

Navalny’s imprisonment in 2021 sparked scores of demonstrations across Russia, leading to thousands of detentions.

Ukraine: Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on X: “Politkovskaya, Litvinenko, Magnitsky, Nemtsov, Navalny are only some of the most well-known names on the long list of critics killed by Putin.”

“There was outrage after each murder, but Putin eventually got away with it, and world leaders shook his hand again. This encouraged him to continue killing people.”

Estonia: Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said: “Navalny’s death is yet another dark reminder of the rogue regime we’re dealing with – and why Russia and all those responsible must be held accountable for each of their crimes.”

Spain: Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he was “shocked by the news of the death in prison of Alexey Navalny, unjustly imprisoned by the Putin regime for his defence of human rights and democracy. My condolences to his family and friends and to all those in Russia who defend democratic values and pay for it the highest of prices.”

The Putin critic appealed to Russians in case of his death in the movie, Navalny, by Daniel Rohr, in 2022.

“If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly strong. We need to utilise this power and not to give up, to remember that we are a huge power that is being oppressed by these bad dudes,” he said in an excerpt aired by Belarusian media outlet Nexta.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good people to do nothing. So don’t do nothing.”

Here’s a look at some of the key moments in Navalny’s life since a near-deadly poisoning that grabbed the world’s attention and became emblematic of the risks faced by the Kremlin’s opponents.

August 20, 2020 – Navalny is hospitalised in the Siberian city of Omsk after falling ill and losing consciousness while on a flight over Siberia. Navalny’s spokeswoman says he was poisoned, perhaps by a cup of tea he drank at Tomsk’s Bogashevo airport, but Russian doctors treating him say they have found “no trace” in his blood or urine.

August 22, 2020 – Navalny is airlifted to Charite hospital in Germany’s capital, Berlin, for treatment. The Russian medical team treating him had initially refused his transport before later releasing him. German doctors say their tests indicate Navalny was poisoned.

September 2, 2020 – German officials say there is “unequivocal proof” Navalny was poisoned with a Soviet-era Novichok nerve agent. Chancellor Angela Merkel says Navalny is a victim of attempted murder, adding there are “serious questions that only the Russian government can and must answer”. International calls for an investigation into the incident mount.

Read more about Navalny’s final years here.

Navalny was known for his unfiltered remarks on Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, including his decision to invade Ukraine in February 2021, which was followed by laws that criminalised any public opposition to or independent reporting about the war.

“This is a stupid war which your Putin started,” Navalny told an appeal court in Moscow via videolink in 2022, despite the crackdown on free speech. “This war was built on lies. One madman has got his claws into Ukraine and I do not know what he wants to do with it – this crazy thief.”

In late February 2023, Navalny’s team published a 15-point manifesto recognising the borders of Ukraine, implying the need for the restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty over Crimea and all other currently occupied Ukrainian territories. The document also insisted on withdrawing all Russian troops from Ukraine, offering reparations, investigating war crimes and letting Ukrainians decide for their future.

Alexey Navalny, a lawyer and securities expert who used to live with his wife, Yulia, and two children, Daria and Zahar, in a drab concrete high-rise in southeastern Moscow, rose to fame in the late 2000s by exposing the corruption of top officials, including Russia’s president.

First as a lone LiveJournal blogger and gradually with a team of researchers and producers, Navalny released dozens of investigations backed with bank records, leaked documents, maps, blueprints of properties, photos and drone footage.

These reports identified and described how the country’s small elite lived in palaces in Russia and luxurious real estate abroad. He exposed their foreign passports and multibillion-dollar assets, their families’ unexpected wealth and well-paid jobs in Kremlin-controlled corporations.

“Putin is the man who steals Russia’s future. I am taking part in this election to fight him,” Navalny said in 2017 when announcing his decision to run for president.

Read more here.

Ursula von der Leyen: The European Commission President said she is “deeply disturbed and saddened” by reports of Navalny’s death.

“Putin fears nothing more than dissent from his own people,” she said. “A grim reminder of what Putin and his regime are all about. Let’s unite in our fight to safeguard the freedom and safety of those who dare to stand up against autocracy.”

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: The exiled Belarusian opposition leader has posted a video on X saying she has “no doubt” that Navalny “was purposefully killed by the Putin regime”.

“In Belarus right now, dozens of political prisoners are held incommunicado by a regime that is allied with Putin. I call on the global community to take decisive action to save their lives,” Tsikhanouskaya added.

Agnes Callamard: Amnesty International’s secretary-general said, “They killed him,” without naming Russia’s president. “I am heartbroken,” she wrote on X. “I am thinking of his wife and kids, his friends and colleagues. RIP courageous #AlexeiNavalny. May you find many wonderful rivers to swim in.”

The United Nations says it is “appalled” at news that the Kremlin’s most prominent critic, Alexei Navalny, died in prison and urges Russian authorities to “end the persecution”.

“If someone dies in the custody of the state, the presumption is that the state is responsible – a responsibility that can only be rebutted through an impartial, thorough and transparent investigation carried out by an independent body,” UN rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell said in a statement.

Russia’s foreign ministry has accused the United States of making “sweeping accusations” over who was to blame for the death of Navalny.

“The death of a person is always a tragedy,” it said. “Instead of sweeping accusations, one ought to show restraint and wait for the official results of the forensic medical examination.”

US Vice President Kamala Harris says Navalny’s death, if confirmed, would be “a further sign of Putin’s brutality”.

“Let us be clear: Russia is responsible,” she said at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

Speaking before Harris, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that if reports of Navalny’s death are accurate, they underscore Russia’s “weakness and rot”.

“His death in a Russian prison and the fixation and fear of one man only underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built,” Blinken said on the sidelines of the conference in Munich. “Russia is responsible for this.”

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told broadcaster NPR that Washington was working to confirm Navalny’s death.

We have the first public reaction by Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, she said she did not know “if we should believe the terrible news we have heard today”.

“If this is true, I would like to tell Putin and his friends that they will not go unpunished,” Navalnaya added, speaking in Russian via an interpreter.

She also called on the international community to come together to fight against what she described as Russia’s “horrific regime” and said Putin must be held responsible for “atrocities” committed against her husband and Russia.

Poland: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has pledged to “never forgive” those responsible for Navalny’s death in prison. “Alexei, we will never forget you. And we will never forgive them,” Tusk said on X.

Canada: Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said, “Alexei Navalny gave his freedom in the hopes of a better, more democratic future for the Russian people. Reports of his death are a painful reminder of Putin’s continued oppressive regime.”

Italy: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement: “We express our heartfelt condolences and hope that full clarity will be revealed over this disturbing event.”

President Joe Biden had warned Putin of consequences if the jailed Russian opposition leader were to die in prison, though he declined to specify which actions he would take.

“I made it clear to him that I believe the consequences of that would be devastating for Russia,” Biden said on June 17, 2021, following a US-Russia summit in Geneva, Switzerland.

“What do you think happens when he’s saying it’s not about hurting Navalny, all the stuff he says to rationalise the treatment of Navalny, and then he dies in prison?… It’s about trust. It’s about their ability to influence other nations in a positive way.”