Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died, state media reports, citing the prison service of the region where he had been serving a 19-year sentence.
There was no immediate confirmation of the 47-year-old’s death from his team.
In a statement on Friday quoted by state media, the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region said Navalny “felt bad” after a walk and lost consciousness “almost immediately”.
It added: “Medical staff arrived immediately and an ambulance team was called. Resuscitation measures were carried out which did not yield positive results. Paramedics confirmed the death of the convict. The causes of death are being established.”
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had been informed of Navalny’s death.
Navalny was in the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp, about 1,900km (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow.
The “special regime” or “Polar Wolf” colony is among the harshest in Russia’s prison system, located in a place with severe winters. Most inmates have been convicted of grave crimes. Kharp is about 100km (60 miles) from Vorkuta, whose coalmines were part of the Soviet gulag camp system.
Source: Al Jazeera
