Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, 47, reportedly died in prison on Friday in the penal colony where he was imprisoned north of the Arctic Circle in Kharp, called the "Polar Wolf". He collapsed and lost consciousness, per prison officials.
Navalny was the main the leading oppositiong to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He accused Putin of corruption and took aim at the nation's wealthy elites, as well, saying that they were greedy and lived in oppulence while the people suffered.
US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Michael Carpenter said that Navalny was recently "thrown into a punitive isolation cell for an unimaginable 27th time."
"Navalny faces a 15-day stint in solitary confinement, adding to the 293 days he's already endured. We condemn this ongoing assault on Navalny's rights and we call for his immediate release. #FreeNavalny," Carpenter said.
A statement from the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District read that Navalny "felt unwell" after a walk and lost consciousness. "All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not yield positive results. Doctors of the ambulance stated the death of the convict," the notice read, per Reuters.
Supporters of Navalny said that he was murdered in confinement. "Russian authorities publish a confession that they killed Alexei Navalny in prison," Navalny aide Leonid Volkov said. "We do not have any way to confirm it or to prove this isn’t true."
In 2021, President Joe Biden told reporters that if the opposition leader was killed that it would be "devastating" to Russia and that the government would lose trust of its people.
Navalny surivived a suspected poisoning attempt in 2020 while he was in prison at the direction of the Kremlin. He went to Germany for treatment for the poisoning, which was revealed to have been carried out with a nerve agent. He returned to Russia in 2021.
Reuters interviewed Navalny in 2011, and asked if he was afraid to challenge Putin and the Kremlin.
"That's the difference between me and you: you are afraid and I am not afraid," he said. "I realize there is danger, but why should I be afraid?"
