Investigators from The Insider gained access to hundreds of official documents relating to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny while being held in the “Polar Wolf” correctional facility. According to these documents, Russian authorities deliberately avoided mention of symptoms that contradicted their official version. Doctors stated that the real symptoms clearly indicate that Navalny was poisoned.
Among the documents obtained by The Insider were two versions of the decision to refuse to open a criminal case, signed by Major of Justice Alexander Voropaev.
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On Feb. 16, Russian authorities reported the death of 47-year-old opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a prison in Russia’s Far North, in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District.
While in the prison yard, Navalny began to feel unwell and informed the on-duty officer, who escorted him to Section No. 4.
Later, Navalny lay down on the floor, complained of sharp abdominal pain, vomited, experienced seizures, and lost consciousness. This was immediately reported to the prison's medical staff, as stated in the document. However, The Insider noted that in a later, final version of the report, there was no mention of Navalny’s abdominal pain, vomiting, or seizures.
Navalny's team stated that the medical report shown to his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, listed the cause of death as natural.
The Insider also obtained a document mentioning “samples of vomit” sent for analysis, although this was again not included in the official report. This corroborates the statements of Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, who previously said that Alexei complained of severe abdominal pain before his death.
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Resuscitator Alexander Polupan, who had treated Navalny after his earlier 2020 poisoning with Novichok, told The Insider that the symptoms described in the documents contradict the official version of his death.
He noted that the official cause - cardiac arrhythmia - does not explain symptoms such as sharp abdominal pain, vomiting, and seizures. According to him, these symptoms indicate poisoning. The rapid onset of seizures after the pain suggests the possible use of an organophosphate compound, such as Novichok, if ingested internally.
The publication reports that other doctors of various specialties agree with this conclusion.
They pointed out that other facts support the poisoning theory: the Kremlin withheld Navalny's body for a long time and did not allow an independent examination of his biological materials. Only now has the fact of poisoning been confirmed by these leaked documents, the publication notes.
However. Kyrylo Budanov, chief of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) said on Feb. 24 on Forum that Alexei Navalny died of a blood clot.
“I may disappoint you, but as far as we know, he indeed died as a result of a blood clot. And this has been more or less confirmed,” Budanov told journalists on the sidelines at the “Ukraine - Year of 2024” forum.
“This wasn't sourced from the internet, but, unfortunately, natural [causes],” he added.
Navalny became popular among the Russian public due to his anti-corruption work, investigations into corruption within the Russian government and state structures, which he published through his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). Navalny was a key figure in protests in Russia, particularly during mass demonstrations against election fraud and corruption.
Navalny had spent the last three years of his life in prison.
In August 2020, Navalny was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok and was transferred to Germany for treatment. The poisoning caused an international outcry, and Navalny directly accused the Russian authorities, including Putin, of the assassination attempt.
In January 2021, Navalny returned to Russia from Germany and was immediately arrested. He was sentenced to a long prison term for allegedly violating probation conditions.
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