Navalny's family cannot identify his body, causing controversy over cause of death

The family of Navalny, known in Russia as a leading critic of the Putin regime who died in prison, has not been able to identify his body, but there are concerns that he may have died before the authorities announced. There are also reports that there is no such thing, and the ripples are spreading over the cause of Mr. Navalny's death.

Russian authorities announced on the 16th that Mr. Navalny, who continued to criticize the Putin administration in Russia, had died in prison.

Authorities have not released a detailed cause of death, but according to an official from Navalny's support group, his mother and lawyer who visited him at the prison were told that the cause of death was ``sudden death syndrome.'' Masu.

Meanwhile, the mother and others have not been able to directly identify the body and are unable to independently verify the cause of death.

Under these circumstances, Russia's independent media ``Novaya Gazeta Europe'' quoted an inmate at the prison where Mr. Navalny was imprisoned on the night of the 15th, the day before the authorities announced his death on the 16th. "A mysterious commotion began inside the building," and security was suddenly tightened and the sound of several cars entering and exiting could be heard.

Then, on the morning of the 16th, word began to spread within the prison that Mr. Navalny had died.

Additionally, the body was reportedly transported to Salekhard, the central city of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in northern Russia, located in the Arctic Circle, where the prison was located, but an emergency team official said that the body had multiple bruises. I am.

One of the bruises is said to have been on his chest, and officials say it may be the result of cardiac massage, but it is unclear how his heart stopped.

In Russia, as of the morning of the 19th, human rights groups had received more than 50,000 calls for the Federal Investigative Committee to return the body to the family, and the controversy over Mr. Navalny's cause of death has spread. I am.

Navalny's wife attends EU foreign ministers' meeting

On the 19th, Mr. Navalny's wife, Yulia, attended a meeting of foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) held in Belgium.

"We will send a political message on how to support the opposition in Russia," Borrell, the EU's foreign minister, told reporters ahead of the meeting.

Furthermore, High Representative Borrell criticized, saying, ``Member states will propose sanctions against those responsible for Mr. Navalny's death.The person most responsible is President Putin himself,'' adding that sanctions will also be discussed at the foreign ministers' meeting. I showed you the outlook.

People who criticized the Putin regime have been murdered or died under suspicious circumstances.

In Russia, people who have been harsh critics of the Putin administration have been murdered or died under suspicious circumstances.

[2006]

Anna Politkovskaya, a reporter for Novaya Gazeta, a newspaper critical of the Putin regime, was shot and killed in her Moscow apartment.

Reporter Politkovskaya reported on human rights violations such as torture and kidnapping of civilians by the Russian military in the Chechen conflict in southern Russia.

The perpetrator of the incident was arrested, but the full details, including who gave the instructions, have not yet been clarified.

In the same year, Alexander Litvinenko, a former employee of the security agency FSB (Federal Security Service), who defected to the United Kingdom, died in London after complaining of poor health.

Litvinenko is believed to have been

poisoned .

[2015]

Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, former first deputy prime minister, was shot and killed in central Moscow, and the perpetrator was charged with murder and other crimes, but whose instructions were given? The motive is unknown.

[2023]

Then, in August, the private jet in which Mr. Prigozhin, the founder of the private military company Wagner, who started an armed rebellion in Russia in June last year, was on crashed, and Mr. Prigozhin died.

Putin's government says a grenade exploded on board the jet, but has not provided details.

The Putin administration has denied any involvement in either case, but the United States and other countries have criticized it, saying the administration is behind it.