World

Alexei Navalny found dead in Russian prison

He was seen as President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critic

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is serving a 19-year prison term (AP)
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is serving a 19-year prison term (AP) (AP)

Russian opposition politician and Putin critic Alexei Navalny has died, the country’s prison service has said.

Seen as President Vladimir Putin’s most vociferous critic, Navalny was serving a 19-year jail term for offences widely considered politically motivated.

He was moved to an Arctic penal colony, considered one of the toughest jails, late last year.

The prison service in the Yamalo-Nenets district said he had “felt unwell” after a walk on Friday.

He had “almost immediately lost consciousness”, it said in a statement.