Alexei Navalny died when he was going to be exchanged for a Russian criminal, according to his team. The body of the opposition politician was handed over to his mother in the Arctic city of Salekhard on Saturday.
The charismatic dissident died more than a week ago in an Arctic prison with no official explanation yet as to the causes of his death. Moscow has recently distinguished itself by agreeing to prisoner exchanges with Washington but demanding high-profile criminal figures in exchange for Americans locked up in Russia for minor crimes.