Alexeï Navalny: “sudden death syndrome”, inaccessible remains… what we know about the death of the Russian political opponent

Les autorités russes ont déclaré à la famille du défunt qu'une enquête devait être menée avant la remise du corps. MAXPPP – DAVID MDZINARISHVILI

The mother of Alexeï Navalny was informed this Saturday, February 17, 2024 that the Russian opponent had succumbed to "sudden death syndrome" and that an investigation should be carried out before the body of the deceased was handed over to his family, those around him said.

Former lawyer aged 47, Alexeï Navalny lost consciousness before dying, Friday February 16,  after a walk in the penal colony "Polar Wolf" of Kharp, a facility located about 1,900 km northeast of Moscow where he was serving a 30-year prison sentence, prison authorities reported.

The "sudden death syndrome"

Lyudmila, the mother of the deceased who is 69 years old, braved temperatures of -30°C on February 17, 2024 to go to the penal colony where her son died. The official obituary given to him indicates death at 2:17 p.m. local time on February 16, Alexei Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, told Reuters.< /p>

 "When Alexei's lawyer and mother arrived at the colony this morning, they were told that the cause of Navalny's death was sudden death syndrome", wrote on the social network deceased opponent. The "sudden death syndrome" is a vague term for different syndromes causing sudden cardiac arrest leading to death.

"We don'have no access to the body"

It is also unclear where Navalny's body is, his team said. His mother learned that the body had been taken to Salekhard, a town near the prison complex, but when she arrived there, the morgue was closed. Contacted by Navalny's lawyer, a morgue employee said he did not have the body, Kira Yarmysh said.

Alexey Navalny was murdered. His death occurred on February 16 at 2:17 p.m. local time, according to the official message to Alexey’s mother.

An employee of the colony said that the body of Navalny is now in Salekhard. It was picked up by investigators from the IC. Now they are…

— Кира Ярмыш (@Kira_Yarmysh) February 17, 2024

The authorities later told them that the body would not be released to the family until the investigation was complete, after previously stating that the investigations had not revealed no signs of foul play: "At this time, we do not have access to the body and we do not know for sure where it is, and we demand that the Russian authorities immediately hand over Alexei's body to his family", said Kira Yarmysh.

Approximately 340 arrests in several cities in Russia

At least 340 people were arrested on Saturday during rallies organized in around thirty cities in Russia in tribute to Alexeï Navalny, the opponent of President Vladimir Putin who died the day before, according to the rights association OVD-Info. This is the largest wave of arrests linked to political events in Russia since September 2022, when more than 1,300 people were arrested during protests against the mobilization of reservists for the military campaign in Ukraine.

Wave of arrests in Saint Petersburg. MAXPPP – ANATOLY MALTSEV

For opponents of Vladimir Putin, this death illustrates how dangerous Russia has become 32 years after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
"Alexei is not dead, he was murdered", said Kira Yarmysh who added: " We have lost our leader, but we have not lost our ideas or our convictions", she added.