Alexei Navalny died of “sudden death syndrome”, his mother was told

Alexei Navalny's mother and lawyer were informed by the prison colony where the Russian opposition leader was imprisoned that died on friday from “sudden death syndrome”, his close ally Ivan Zhdanov claimed today, with a post on the X platform.

Navalny's support group, in a Telegram post, accused his “killers” of trying to “cover their tracks” by not handing over the body to his relatives. “It is obvious that the killers want to cover their tracks. That's why they don't give Alexei's body and hide it even from his mother,” this post emphasizes.

It is currently unclear where Navalny's body is. A little earlier, his representative, Kira Jarmis, in her own post on the same platform said that Russian officials said that his body will not be handed over to his relatives until the investigation is completed. The cause of death has not yet been determined.

According to Jarmis, a second autopsy was performed and the results are “supposed” to be available next week.

Navalny's relatives, for their part, demanded that the body be handed over to them immediately.

Jarmis said in a video posted online that Navalny's mother, Lyudmila, accompanied by his lawyer, went to the IK-3 prison colony in Yamalia region and were given an “official document” confirming his death. “Alexei Navalny was murdered,” added Jarmis, who, like many other dissidents, has gone into self-imposed exile to avoid prison. “He died at 14.17 local time on February 16, according to the official document given to his mother,” he added.

According to Jarmis, Lyudmila Navalnaya and the lawyer arrived at the prison at 11:00 local time today, but had to wait for two hours before being admitted.

It is unknown when the body will be released to relatives and where Navalny will be buried. It is also unclear where the body is, as the morgue where prison authorities say it was taken is closed and an employee assured the lawyer that it has not been received.

“The investigative committee has infinite options,” a worker told Reuters, citing other towns in the region, including Labitnangi, Nadim and Urengoy, where the body may be located. “In Salehard we only have one morgue. I have received no one, no body, no papers,” he added. When asked if the body might have been moved before he took over his shift, he replied: “Nobody gave me anything. I think that if such a body had been brought to us, they would have told me immediately.”

Harp's IK-3 penal colony is located in the Arctic Circle, about an hour's drive from Salekhard, the administrative capital of Yamalia-Nenets Autonomous Oblast.