On February 16, 2024, the death of the jailed Russian Opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, 47, was reported by State media which further cited the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence.
According to the prison service, Alexei Navalny 'felt bad' after a walk and lost consciousness 'almost immediately'.
Navalny has been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.
IMAGE: Alexei Navalny takes part in a rally in Moscow, February 29, 2020, to mark the 5th anniversary of Opposition politician Boris Nemtsov's murder and to protest against proposed amendments to the country's constitution. Photograph: Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters
IMAGE: Navalny with his wife Yulia, surrounded by supporters and the media, makes his way to the city's election commission office in central Moscow, July 10, 2013, to submit documents to get registered as a mayoral election candidate. Photograph: Grigory Dukor/
IMAGE: Navalny and his daughter Daria meet with journalists outside a polling station in Moscow, September 8, 2019, during the Moscow city parliament election. Photograph: Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters
IMAGE: Navalny and his brother Oleg take selfies during a rally in memory of politician Boris Nemtsov, Moscow, February 24, 2019. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
IMAGE: Navalny is seen on a screen via a video link from the IK-2 corrective penal colony in Pokrov during a court hearing to consider an appeal against his prison sentence, May 24, 2022. Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters
IMAGE: Navalny, his lawyers Olga Mikhailova and Vadim Kobzev and other participants are seen on a screen via a video link during an external hearing of the Moscow city court in a new criminal case against Navalny on numerous charges, including the creation of an extremist organisation, at the IK-6 penal colony in the Vladimir region, June 19, 2023. Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters
IMAGE: Navalny appears on a screen via a video link from the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets region during a hearing against the ministry of justice in Russia's supreme court, January 11, 2024. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
IMAGE: Navalny's parents, Anatoly and Lyudmila, leave after an external hearing of the Moscow city court in a new criminal case against their son. Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters
IMAGE: People attend a protest in support of Navalny outside the Russian embassy in Berlin, Germany, January 24, 2023. Photograph: Lisi Niesner/Reuters
IMAGE: Graffiti depicting Navalny in St Petersburg, Russia, April 28, 2021. The graffiti reads: 'The hero of the new age'. Photograph: Anton Vaganov/Reuters
IMAGE: A person lights a candle next to a portrait of Navalny at the monument to the victims of political repression in St Petersburg, February 16, 2024, following the announcement of Navalny's death. Photograph: Reuters
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com