What happened to Alexei Navalny? UK and its allies pins blame for death of Russian opposition leader on Kremlin

Mr Navalny died almost two years ago, on February 16, 2024, while he was serving a prison sentence in a Siberian penal colony.

The UK and its allies have now said that it believes that his death was at the hands of the Russian state government following analysis of material samples taken from Mr Navalny’s body.

He is alleged to have been killed by a poison developed from a dart frog toxin. The Russian authorities have denied any involvement in Mr Navalny’s death.

In a joint statement issued by the governments of the UK, Sweden, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, the allies said that it was “confident that Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a lethal toxin”.

The statement added: “This is the conclusion of our Governments based on analyses of samples from Alexei Navalny. These analyses have conclusively confirmed the presence of epibatidine.

“Epibatidine is a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America. It is not found naturally in Russia. Russia claimed that Navalny died of natural causes.

“But given the toxicity of epibatidine and reported symptoms, poisoning was highly likely the cause of his death. Navalny died while held in prison, meaning Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison to him.”

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper spoke with Yulia Navalnaya, Mr Navalny’s widow, during the Munich Security Conference. Cooper said: “Since Yulia Navalnaya announced the loss of her husband here in Munich two years ago, the UK has pursued the truth of Alexei Navalny’s death with fierce determination

“Only the Russian Government had the means, motive and opportunity to deploy this lethal toxin against Alexei Navalny during his imprisonment in Russia. Today, beside his widow, the UK is shining a light on the Kremlin’s barbaric plot to silence his voice.

“Russia saw Navalny as a threat. By using this form of poison the Russian state demonstrated the despicable tools it has at its disposal and the overwhelming fear it has of political opposition.”

What happened to Alexei Navalny?

Anti-corruption activist and opposition leader Mr Navalny was serving a prison sentence in a Siberian penal colony after being convicted of multiple crimes in his native country of Russia.

Many considered the convictions to be politically motivated in an attempt to stop him from running for president against Vladimir Putin, with Mr Navalny leading protests after the Russian president prior to his initial convictions. He also uncovered corruption within the Kremlin.

In 2020, he was hospitalised after being severely poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent. He became unwell during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow, which was diverted to the Russian city of Omsk for urgent treatment.

His poisoning came after the 2018 Salisbury poisoning, in which ex-Russian military officer and British double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were hospitalised after coming into contact with the same nerve agent.

Mr Navalny was medically evacuated to Berlin where he was released from hospital a month later. Upon his return to Russia, authorities immediately detained him over accusations of violating parole conditions during his hospitalisation.

He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in detention, with the court later adding an additional nine years to his sentence after he was found guilty of embezzlement and contempt of court. In August 2023, he received another 19 years on his sentence after a court found him guilty on extremism charges, meaning Mr Navalny’s sentence totaled over 30 years.

In February 2024, it was announced that Mr Navalny had died at the age of 47 while serving his sentence in a Siberian penal colony. The Russian prison service said that he “felt unwell after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness”.

It added: “All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out but did not yield positive results. The paramedics confirmed the death of the convict.”