NY POST
The mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny declared his death a murder Saturday as authorities claimed his life ended because of a medical condition called “sudden death syndrome” — while hundreds who turned out to memorialize him were detained across the country, according to reports.
Navalny, 47, died Friday in Russia’s brutal IK-3 penal colony in remote Kharp, about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow.
“Alexey Navalny was murdered. His death occurred on February 16 at 2:17 p.m. local time, according to the official message to Alexey’s mother,” Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh wrote on X early Saturday.
Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service originally claimed “the convict” collapsed and died after he “felt unwell” during a walk.
“When Alexei’s lawyer and mother arrived at the colony this morning, they were told that the cause of Navalny’s death was sudden death syndrome,” Ivan Zhdanov, who directs Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, wrote Saturday on X.
The syndrome usually involves cardiac issues which cause a person’s unexpected death.
Navalny’s family has demanded the government give them his remains “immediately,” with his spokeswoman noting his body was not in the morgue in Salekhard, the town closest to IK-3.
“An employee of the colony said that the body of Navalny is now in Salekhard. It was picked up by investigators from the IC. Now they are conducting ‘investigations’ with him We demand that Alexey Navalny’s body be handed over to his family immediately,” Yarmysh wrote…
