Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in prison

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in prison.

News of Navalny's death has been reported by the country's prison service today (16 February), after Navalny was sentenced to 19 years in prison under a 'special regime'.

In a statement, The Federal Penitentiary Service for Yamal: "On 16.02.24 in the correctional colony number three, convict Navalny felt ill after a walk almost immediately losing consciousness."

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"Medical workers of the institution arrived immediately, ambulance team were called," the statement continued.

"All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out which did not give a positive result. Ambulance, doctors stated death of the convict.

"The cause of death is being investigated."

As well as being the leader of the opposition party, Navalny was a vocal critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

He led nationwide protests against the authorities in Russia for more than a decade, and set up a network of campaign offices to help support his fight.

In 2018, Navalny tried to run against Putin in the presidential election, however he was barred from entering the race due to an embezzlement conviction he received in 2014.

He was arrested in 2021 on charges stemming from the case, and was initially sentenced to two and a half years in prison for an alleged parole violation.

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Navalny was then charged on new charges of fraud and contempt of court, landing him with another nine years in prison.

In August, Navalny received his most recent sentence of 19 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of extremism. He vehemently denied all charges against him, claiming they were politically motivated.

The opposition leader's allies agreed, claiming the sentence was part of a campaign from the Kremlin to keep Navalny incarcerated forever.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said Putin has been informed of Navalny’s death.

In a statement cited by Politico, Peskov said: “As far as we know, the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) is currently handling all the existing rules, conducting investigations, and so on.

"There’s no need for any specific instructions because there are certain regulations that the FSIN is currently following."

Peskov said he did not have any information about Navalny's cause of death, adding: “The medical staff should investigate somehow."

Navalny, who was 47-years-old, was being held in a jail about 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

He is survived by his wife, Yulia, as well as his daughter Daria and son Zahar.