Enlarge image
Trapped in the Arctic Circle: Penal Colony No. 3 “Arctic Wolf” in the Russian village of Charp
Photo: REUTERS
According to the Kremlin, Alexei Navalny died on the afternoon of February 16 due to a blood clot. However, initial reconstructions by independent Russian media and activist organizations massively question this version.
According to one of Navalny's fellow prisoners, with whom the Kremlin-critical Novaya Gazeta Europa, which is banned in Russia, claims to have spoken, an "incomprehensible riot" began in the penal colony on the evening of February 15th. The inmate of penal colony No. 3 "Polarwolf" reports that employees of the camp in the Arctic Circle carried out an unusually accelerated evening check that evening - a process that is common before public holidays. They also locked the prisoners' barracks: "They locked us in the barracks, warned us not to move between the barracks and increased the guards," he reported. You could also hear cars driving into the prison camp, but it was impossible to see which vehicles they were.
On the morning of February 16, the excitement reportedly continued. The penal colony staff confiscated “mobile phones, maps and even boilers.” The inmates suspected an inspection of the camp, but this is usually announced about a month in advance. Instead, a commission appeared “out of the blue.” “Something must have happened,” the inmate thought. The prisoners learned around ten in the morning - eight o'clock in Moscow - that Navalny had died: a version that blatantly contradicts the Kremlin's information.
“So I think that Navalny died much earlier than announced.”
The inmate also reports that ambulances only appeared on the grounds of the penal colony after Navalny's death was announced. In the afternoon, more cars arrived from different directions, and a commission from the central office of the Federal Penitentiary Service was also expected.
For the inmate, the sequence of events he described suggests that Navalny died sooner: “So I think that Navalny died much earlier than announced. Most likely last night. Why else was it necessary to lock us tightly in the barracks and then carry out a raid in the morning?'
Neither the information nor the identity of the inmate can currently be verified. Nevertheless, Novaya Gazeta is considered a credible medium among Russia experts, especially when it comes to reports from prisons. The newspaper advocates for the rights of prisoners.
Conspicuously quick press statements, presumably dismantled cameras and listening devices
Reports from the anti-torture organization Gulagu.net, on the other hand, focused on what they saw as the striking speed of statements from the Kremlin after Navalny's death announcement. Just a few minutes after the announcement, the prison authority published what appeared to be a prepared press release. Shortly afterwards, news emerged in state media that Navalny had died of a blood clot. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also spoke to the media less than ten minutes later. The human rights organization suspects that the action was well-planned because of the tight schedule - an assertion that would be supported by the statements made by Navalny's fellow inmate in Novaya Gazeta.
Gulagu.net also reported that agents from the Russian secret service FSB switched off and dismantled listening devices and hidden cameras in the penal colony two days before Navalny's death. Accordingly, they could have documented Navalny's last hours.
Gulagu.net's reports cannot be independently verified either. Nor have they been confirmed by independent Russian media reports. As the British "Times" reports, the organization has contacts with political prisoners and was the first site to spread the news about the Wagner Group's recruitment from Russian prisons. However, other reports from the organization have proven inaccurate in the past.
There are still many unanswered questions about the death of regime critic Navalny. Not even the opposition politician's mother has been able to see her son's body. Navalny's employees and numerous other human rights activists assume that he was deliberately killed.
col