Navalny was about to be freed in prisoner swap when he died, team says

THE TEAM OF the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has said that a deal to free him as part of a prisoner swap had nearly been reached when he died in prison. 

The 47-year-old, the Kremlin’s most vocal critic, died on 16 February in one of Russia’s toughest prisons in northern Siberia, where he was serving a 19-year sentence on charges widely seen as political retribution for his opposition.

In a video statement shared today, Maria Pevchikh, an ally of Navalny, said a deal was being negotiated to free him and two American citizens in exchange for an FSB officer. 

“Alexei Navalny could have been sitting here now, today. It’s not a figure of speech. It could and should have happened,” Pevchikh said. 

She said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “was offered to exchange FSB officer and killer Vadim Krasikov, who is serving time for murder in Berlin, for two American citizens and Alexei Navalny”. 

She said she received confirmation that the talks were in the “final stages” on 15 February, the day before Navalny was reported dead.

“Navalny was supposed to be released in the coming days,” she added.

When asked about the claims during a regular briefing, a spokesperson for the German government declined to comment.

Krasikov is serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 killing of former separatist commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in a Berlin park, which German authorities say was ordered by Russian intelligence services.

Washington has accused Moscow of arresting American citizens on baseless charges to use them as bargaining chips to secure the release of Russians convicted abroad.

Among US citizens detained in Russia are former US marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, both accused of espionage.

In an interview earlier this month, US far-right commentator Tucker Carlson asked Putin about the prospects of exchanging Gershkovich, and Putin said the Kremlin was open to negotiations.

He pointed to a man imprisoned in a “US-allied country” for “liquidating a bandit” who had allegedly killed Russian soldiers during separatist fighting in Chechnya. Putin did not mention names but appeared to refer to Krasikov.

Pevchikh alleged in her video that Putin “wouldn’t tolerate” setting Navalny free and decided to “get rid of the bargaining chip”. She offered no evidence to back that claim.

On Saturday, Navalny’s body was released to his mother more than a week after he died in an Arctic prison colony.

It came after his spokesperson accused the Russian authorities of threatening to bury his body at the prison where he died unless his mother agreed to a private funeral. 

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Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said in a video released on Saturday that Navalny’s mother was being “literally tortured” by authorities who had threatened to bury him in the Arctic prison.

They suggested to his mother that she does not have much time to make a decision because the body is decomposing, Navalnaya said.

“Give us the body of my husband,” she said. “You tortured him alive, and now you keep torturing him dead. You mock the remains of the dead.”

Authorities have detained scores of people as they seek to suppress any major outpouring of sympathy for Putin’s fiercest opponent before a presidential election he is almost certain to win.

Russians on social media said officials did not want to return Navalny’s body to his family because they fear a public show of support for him.

In a social media post today, Navalny’s former press secretary and assistant Kira Yarmish said that his team were looking for a venue where people could hold a public farewell later this week. 

With reporting from Press Association and © AFP 2024