Alexei Navalny died in penal colony No. 3 in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the regional department of the Federal Penitentiary Service reported on Friday.
“On February 16th of this year, in the colony No. 3, convict Navalny A.A. felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness. Medical workers from the institution immediately arrived and an emergency medical team was called,” the release said.
“All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, but did not yield positive results. Emergency doctors confirmed the death of the convict. The causes of death are being established,” the release adds.
Commenting on the development, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it is up to medics to find out reasons behind Navalny's death.
“As far as we know, now, in accordance with all current rules, the Federal Penitentiary Service is engaged in all inspections, clarifications, and so on. That is, no instructions are required anymore, because there is a certain set of rules in this regard that the service is now guided by,” Peskov told reporters, adding that the news about Navalny’s death was “reported from Moscow.”
Procedural Investigation Into Death of Navalny is Launched
A procedural investigation into the death of Alexei Navalny has been organized, the investigation office of the Russian Investigative Committee in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area said.
The regional office of the Federal Penitentiary Service informed about the death of Navalny earlier in the day.
"The investigation office of the Russian Investigative Committee in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area has launched a procedural investigation into the death of Navalny A.A. ... In accordance with the procedure established by law, a set of investigative and operational measures is being carried out aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the incident," the authority said in a statement.
West’s Reaction to Navalny’s Death ‘Self-Exposing’ - Russian Foreign Ministry
The immediate reaction of Western leaders to the death of Alexei Navalny is “self-exposing,” as they made conclusions before any forensic examinations, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.
“The immediate reaction of NATO leaders to Navalny’s death in the form of direct accusations against Russia is self-exposing. There is no forensic examination yet, but the West’s already made conclusions,” Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel.