Navalny's Widow Says Lab Tests Show Her Husband Was Poisoned In Prison

"Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, said laboratory tests done outside of Russia show her husband was poisoned in the Arctic prison where he died in mysterious circumstances in February 2024. In a video statement posted on social media on September 17, Navalnaya said that supporters of her late husband obtained and smuggled biological samples from him out of Russia. Laboratories in two countries analyzed the samples independently and "reached the same conclusion: Aleksei was killed; more specifically, he was poisoned," she said. Navalnaya did not identify the laboratories and gave no details about their findings, which she urged them to release publicly."

"Her statement echoes earlier findings published last year by the Russia-focused media outlet The Insider, which reported that documents indicated Navalny, anti-corruption campaigner who had worked to expose the alleged ill-gotten gains of President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle, had been poisoned. Navalny, who was serving a 19-year sentence in a prison known as Polar Wolf on charges widely considered as politically motivated, was transferred there under what Navalnaya described as a deliberate plan, though she gave no direct evidence to support that assertion. She alleged, however, that Arkady Gostev, head of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN), inspected the remote facility in April 2023 and again in December, shortly before Navalny's transfer."

""Why was this remote, closed, and harsh [prison] colony so attractive? Perhaps because nothing and no one there could prevent them from finishing the job. And they did finish it," Navalnaya said in a Russian version of her statement, which was published on YouTube. She said that testimony from five prison staff members suggests Navalny's health rapidly declined in his final weeks. On February 3, he complained of leg pain and was briefly checked into the prison's medical office."

Laboratory analyses conducted outside Russia indicate Aleksei Navalny was poisoned in the Arctic prison where he died in February 2024. Supporters obtained and smuggled biological samples out of Russia for independent testing in two countries, which reportedly reached the same conclusion. The laboratories were not identified and no detailed findings have been publicly released. Earlier reporting by The Insider cited documents indicating Navalny had been poisoned. Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence at the Polar Wolf prison and was transferred there after inspections of the remote facility in April and December 2023. Testimony from five prison staff members indicates his health rapidly declined in his final weeks. On February 3, he complained of leg pain and was briefly checked into the prison medical office.

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