Alexei Navalny, Prominent Putin Critic, Dies In Jail, Russia's Prison System Says

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s biggest foes, died Friday while being held in a Russian penal colony in Kharp, a city outside Moscow, the Federal Prison Service said. He was 47.

According to the statement released by the country’s prison agency, Navalny lost consciousness after he felt unwell during a walk. While emergency services attended to him, they did not manage to revive him, they added.

Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said Navalny’s lawyer was travelling to Kharp to find out more, adding that they were not in a position to confirm his death yet.

“As soon as we have some information, we will report on it,” Yarmysh wrote on X.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Putin was notified of Navalny’s death, adding that the Federal Penitentiary Service is investigating the events.

World leaders have been sharing their reaction to the reports of Navalny’s death, with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling the development “terrible news.”

“As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life,” Sunak wrote. “My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose country is at war with Russia, told a news conference in Berlin, “Alexey Navalny died in a Russian prison — it is obvious for me that he was killed.”

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the Biden administration was “actively seeking confirmation” of the news.

“If it’s confirmed, it is a terrible tragedy, and given the Russian government’s long and sordid history of doing harm to its opponents, it raises real and obvious questions about what