Russia's opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in prison

Alexei Navalny, Russia's most famous opposition leader, died in prison, the authority said on Friday (16 February). 

The Russian prison service said, Alexei Navalny died on Friday after collapsing and losing consciousness at the penal colony north of the Arctic Circle where he was serving a long jail term. 

But supporters of Navalny say they could not confirm he was dead, but that if he was then they believed he had been killed. 

"Russian authorities publish a confession that they killed Alexei Navalny in prison," Navalny aide Leonid Volkov wrote on social media. "We do not have any way to confirm it or to prove this isn’t true."

Navalny, 47, rose to prominence more than a decade ago by lampooning President Vladimir Putin and the Russian elite whom he accused of vast corruption, avarice and opulence.

The Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District said in a statement that Navalny "felt unwell" after a walk at the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp, about 1,900 km (1,200 miles) north east of Moscow.

He lost consciousness almost immediately, it said.

"All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not yield positive results. Doctors of the ambulance stated the death of the convict," the prison service said, adding that causes of death were being established.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, President Putin has been told about Navalny's death. Putin, who is running for re-election in a month, was shown on a television clip visiting a factory in the Urals.

After the news of Navalny's death spread, condemnation quickly poured in from Western governments who have been decrying his imprisonment from the very beginning. 

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on X, "Dreadful news about Alexei Navalny... If the report about his death in Russian prison is true it represents another terrible crime by Putin’s regime". 

Ursula Von Der Leyen, President of European Union Commission, said on X post, "Deeply disturbed and saddened by news of the death of Alexei Navalny. Putin fears nothing more than dissent from his own people." 

"A grim reminder of what Putin and his regime are all about. Let's unite in our fight to safeguard the freedom and safety of those who dare to stand up against autocracy", she added.