Alexei Navalny's body reportedly shows signs of bruising caused by him being held down during a seizure, raising fears that he was killed on Vladimir Putin's orders.
The wounds are consistent with the Russian opposition leader, who died on Friday aged 47 amid claims he was “assassinated” by Vladimir Putin's regime, having suffered a “seizure”, according to independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe.
The news agency spoke to a paramedic from the Salekhard emergency medical service near the IK-3 penal colony, also known as “Polar Wolf,” where Navalny was held.
According to the independent news agency, medics found bruises on Navalny's body, which currently lies under police guard in a morgue at the Salekhard District Clinical Hospital.
“Normally, the bodies of people who die in prison are taken directly to the Forensic Medicine Office on Glazkova Street, but in this case, for some reason, they were taken to the clinical hospital,” the anonymous paramedic told the outlet.
“As an experienced paramedic, I can say that the injuries described by those who saw her appear to be from convulsions.”
Alexei Navalny's (pictured) body shows signs of bruising, according to a new report
Alexei is survived by his wife Julia (pictured) and their two children
Vladimir Putin (pictured) has been accused of abetting his murder
A view of the entrance to the IK-3 prison colony in the town of Charp in the Yamal-Nenetsk region, about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow, Russia
“When a person has convulsions and others try to hold him down, but the convulsions are very severe, then bruising occurs.” They also said he had a bruise on his chest – the kind caused by indirect cardiac massage arises.
“So they tried to resuscitate him and he probably died of cardiac arrest,” the paramedic said, adding, “But no one says anything about why he had cardiac arrest.”
An autopsy has not yet been carried out, the source says.
Navalny's mother had previously been incorrectly informed that the politician's body was in the Salekhard morgue.
The family has now been informed that the cause of death has not been determined and his body cannot yet be handed over to relatives for burial.
There are few details about Navalny's death, and published information contradicts one another.
It was most recently reported that Navalny died of “sudden death syndrome,” but no details were provided to support that claim.
Just two minutes after Navalny's alleged death – 2:17 p.m. – Russia's prison authorities issued a statement announcing his death.
Four minutes later, a Kremlin-controlled Telegram channel claimed that he had died of a blood clot, and just seven minutes later, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, spoke to the media about it.
In addition, Kremlin officials reportedly told the opposition leader's mother that he had died of “sudden death syndrome” when she visited the brutal IK-3 Polar Wolf penal colony where he was being held yesterday.
Navalny's allies said they were denied the opportunity to see the body, which would remain with authorities until the investigation was completed.
A view of the town of Kharp, home of the Polar Wold prison, seen through a frame reading “Happiness is not over the hill” in the Yamal-Nenetsk region, about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow, Russia
A police officer watches as a young man lays flowers to pay his last respects to Alexei Navalny
A couple lays flowers to pay their last respects to Alexei Navalny at the monument, a large boulder from the Solovetsky Islands, where the first camp of the Gulag political prison system was built
There are few details about Navalny's death, and published information contradicts one another.
Police officers detain a woman during a memorial event in memory of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny near the Wall of Mourning monument
Navalny's allies said they were denied the opportunity to see the body, which would remain with authorities until the investigation was completed
Russian police officers stand next to the flowers next to the “Wall of Mourning” monument erected in memory of Alexei Navalny
Navalny's lawyer, who arrived in the city of Salekhard with Navalny's mother on Saturday, reportedly learned from the prison that the body was being kept in the morgue.
But a contact at the Salekhard morgue later denied it was the body – leaving even more question marks surrounding the shock death of one of Putin's harshest critics.
“It is obvious that the murderers want to cover their tracks and that is why they do not hand over Alexei's body and even hide it from his mother,” his team said in a post on Telegram.
Yesterday it was claimed that FSB officers visited the prison where Navalny was being held just days before his death.
According to the Russian human rights organization gulagu.net, two intelligence officers are said to have switched off some monitoring and recording devices at Polar Wolf.
Although the site is not known for its reliability, it was the first group to spread the news that Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner Group was recruiting mercenaries from Russian prisons.
The world has condemned Navalny's suspicious death and countries around the world have called for an independent investigation into the cause of his death.
Yesterday, US President Joe Biden said there was “no doubt” that Vladimir Putin was responsible for Navalny's death.
He said the U.S. was considering “a range of options” to punish Russia.
A woman lays flowers at a monument to victims of political repression to commemorate Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny
Yesterday it was claimed that FSB officers visited the prison where Navalny was being held just days before his death
In 2021, Biden said he told Putin that the consequences of Navalny's death would be “devastating for Russia.”
The U.S. ambassador to Moscow visited a makeshift shrine to Alexei Navalny on Sunday as Russian authorities suppressed memorials and tributes to the late opposition leader.
Human rights groups say police arrested more than 400 people at rallies for the politician, a leading critic of President Vladimir Putin who died in an Arctic prison on Friday.
Ambassador Lynne Tracy was pictured on Sunday at the Solovetsky Stone, a monument to political repression that has become a major memorial to Navalny.
“Today at Solovetsky Stone we mourn the death of Alexei Navalny and other victims of political repression in Russia,” the U.S. Embassy in Moscow said on social media.
“We express our deepest condolences to Alexei Navalny’s family, colleagues and supporters.” His strength is an inspiring example. “We honor his memory,” it said.
At a separate makeshift monument called the Wall of Mourning, a bronze memorial to Soviet-era repression, police had erected fences to keep out mourners.
Several dozen police officers could be seen nearby, but some people were allowed to enter through the fence and lay flowers, an AFP reporter saw.
Police had arrested 401 people in more than a dozen cities as of Saturday evening, according to the human rights group OVD-Info, which tracks political arrests and provides legal assistance.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny poses for the media with his wife Yulia (right), daughter Daria and son Zakhar after voting in a city council election in Moscow, Russia, on September 8, 2019
Navalny and his wife Yulia attend a rally against raising the retirement age in Moscow, Russia, on July 29, 2018
Navalny and his wife Yulia attend his final campaign rally in heavy rain in Moscow, Russia, on September 6, 2013
According to the group, there were more than 200 arrests in St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city.
Among those detained there was Grigory Mikhnov-Voitenko, a priest of the Apostolic Orthodox Church – a religious group independent of the Russian Orthodox Church – who announced plans on social media to hold a memorial service for Mr Navalny and on Saturday morning before his House was arrested home.
He was accused of organizing a rally and was put in a police cell, but was later taken to the hospital after suffering a stroke, OVD-Info reported.
Courts in St. Petersburg sentenced 42 of those detained Friday to prison terms of between one and six days, while nine others were fined, court officials said.
According to OVD Info, at least six people were sentenced to 15 days in prison in Moscow. One person was also detained in the southern city of Krasnodar and two others in the city of Bryansk, the group said.
The UK, meanwhile, has threatened to impose another set of sanctions against Russia following Navalny's death.
Yesterday, US President Joe Biden said there was “no doubt” that Vladimir Putin was responsible for Navalny's death
Flowers and portraits of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny are laid at the monument to the victims of political repression after his death
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron joined other G7 ministers at the Munich Security Conference in calling on Russia to “fully clarify” how the jailed opposition leader died, as pressure mounted on Western leaders to respond.
The Foreign Secretary used the meeting in Germany to reiterate the UK's call for countries to seize Russian Central Bank assets currently held in the West to finance Ukraine's reconstruction.
The second anniversary of the Russian invasion is approaching and it is confirmed that Putin's forces have taken full control of the frontline town of Avdiivka.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined Western leaders in blaming Moscow for Mr. Navalny's death, noting that the Putin critic's death was another reminder of the importance of defeating Russia.
“There should be consequences,” the foreign minister told broadcasters on Saturday.
“When such horrific human rights violations occur, we look to see whether there are individuals responsible and whether there are individual policies and actions we can take.”
“We don’t announce them in advance, so I can’t say more.”
“But that’s exactly what we’re going to look at.”
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