By Sophie Tanno, Karl de Vries, Sana Noor Haq, Zoe Sottile, Michael Williams, Adrienne Vogt and Matt Meyer, CNN
Alexey Navalny’s spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, says Navalny’s lawyer is traveling to Kharp, Russia, where the Kremlin critic had been serving his sentence.
"The Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug is spreading the news of Alexey Navalny's death in IK-3. We have no confirmation of this yet. Alexey's lawyer is currently on his way to Kharp. As soon as we have some information, we will report on it," she posted on X, formerly Twitter.
In January 2024, CNN's Matthew Chance reported on what life is like inside one of Russia's notorious penal colonies, nicknamed the "Polar Wolf" for its remote location and proximity to the Arctic.
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was being held here when his death was announced on February 16, 2024, by Russian state media, citing the country's prison service.
From CNN's Rob Picheta
Alexey Navalny had long been a thorn in the side of President Vladimir Putin, exposing corruption in high places, campaigning against the ruling United Russia party, and orchestrating some of the biggest anti-government protests seen in recent years.
He returned to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he had been treated after being poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent.
Upon his return, Navalnvy was swiftly arrested on charges he dismissed as politically motivated. He has been incarcerated ever since.
Jailed Russian opposition figure and outspoken Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, who made global headlines when he was poisoned with a nerve agent in 2020, has died, the Russian prison service said.
