Alexei Navalny was poisoned in the colony, there is evidence: who is to blame for the politician's death?

The widow of Russian politician Yulia Navalnaya stated that her husband was poisoned in the prison colony in February 2024. According to her, two independent laboratories that examined biological materials came to this conclusion. Navalnaya emphasized that the results should be published by the laboratories themselves. She also described the circumstances of her husband's death, reconstructed by associates of the deceased opposition leader.

"In February 2024, we managed to obtain and transport Alexei's biological materials abroad, which were handed over to a laboratory in a Western country. A few months ago, I learned that the research was completed, and two laboratories in different countries came to the same conclusion: Alexei was poisoned," she wrote in her Telegram channel.

According to Navalnaya, "a citizen of Russia was killed on the territory of his country, and all the evidence is there. Western states have no legal grounds to initiate a criminal case." The politician's widow demanded the disclosure of research data about exactly what Navalny was poisoned with.

However, it is still unknown which laboratories conducted the analysis, and their findings have not been officially published.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, responding to CNN's question, said: "I know nothing about these statements. I can't say anything here." He added that it "will not affect either the political situation or the negotiation process on Ukraine."

The Federal Penitentiary Service announced Navalny's death on February 16, 2024. The politician's associates claimed from the beginning that he was killed, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of this. The authorities stated that the cause was natural factors.

Yulia Navalnaya also said that she has testimonies from five employees of the "Kharp" colony, not previously published. According to her, they provide a fragmented but overall picture of the events that happened to Alexei after his transfer to this facility and on February 16.

She claims that on February 3, Navalny began experiencing leg pain. He was taken to the medical office, where his blood pressure and temperature were checked, but the assistance was limited to that. Later, on February 14, he was transferred to a punishment cell, where two days later he became ill.

On the morning of February 16, Navalny again complained of pain. Staff confirmed his words, but the head of the medical unit, Alexei Lisyuk, claimed there were no complaints. At noon, Navalny was taken for a walk, where he complained of a sharp deterioration in his condition. Despite this, he was not sent to doctors but returned to his cell, where he fell to the floor, moaned in pain, complained of burning in his chest and abdomen, and began vomiting and convulsing.

According to Navalnaya, prison staff left him alone, observing his condition through the bars. When the head of the medical unit finally examined the prisoner, Navalny was already having convulsions and labored breathing. Only at 13:25, more than 40 minutes after the first complaints, was an ambulance called. Resuscitation proved unsuccessful: at 14:17 his heart stopped, and at 14:23 resuscitation efforts were terminated.

The preliminary diagnosis from the ambulance was convulsive syndrome and sudden death syndrome. Navalnaya notes that convulsions can be a sign of poisoning and that her husband had a hemorrhage in the crown area of his head.

She also emphasized that for some reason there were no video recordings of Navalny's last day in the colony, although previously he was constantly recorded on cameras. In her opinion, the recordings could have contained data contradicting the official version.

Navalnaya stated that her husband's biological materials were taken abroad in February 2024, and two foreign laboratories independently confirmed the fact of poisoning.

"I directly accuse Vladimir Putin of murdering my husband. I believe that Russian special services are creating prohibited chemical and biological weapons. I demand that the laboratories that conducted the research publish their results," she said.

The Russian Federal Penitentiary Service has not commented on her words. The authorities insist that the death occurred due to natural causes.

Earlier, on August 15, 2024, Navalnaya published investigators' decision to refuse to open a criminal case. It stated that Navalny died due to a combination of diseases and arrhythmia. She called this a lie, noting that doctors also do not believe in the causes voiced by the investigation. "I know this is not true," Navalnaya said at