Russian authorities manipulated Navalny's death records to hide poisoning signs
Journalists from the independent Russian service The Insider have gained access to documents related to the death of Alexei Navalny. These documents indicate that the authorities deliberately removed mentions of some symptoms experienced by the opposition leader, which did not align with the official version of his death. Doctors confirm that these symptoms clearly indicate poisoning.
The Russian opposition leader died on 16 February 2024 in the Polar Wolf penal colony, located just 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle. It was determined that no third parties contributed to his death. The official cause of death was stated as "cardiac arrhythmia". Consequently, the Russian Investigative Committee concluded that the case "was not criminal in nature".
Journalists from The Insider obtained documents describing Navalny's last moments. They reveal that just before his death, Navalny complained of severe abdominal pain.
Two versions of one decision
The Insider acquired two versions of the decision to refuse to open a criminal case, signed by Judge Major Alexander Warapayev. In the first version, it is stated that on 16 February, the inmate "felt a sharp deterioration of his health condition while in exercise yard". He reported the symptoms to the duty officer, who then took him inside. There, Navalny "lay down on the floor and began to complain of sharp pain in the abdominal area".
Removed because it didn't fit
In a later version of the same decision, which became final, there were no longer any mentions of abdominal pain. According to The Insider's journalists, these details were removed as they did not fit the officially stated cause of Navalny's death.
The Insider's journalists also possess another document confirming that Navalny complained of abdominal pain and vomited before his death. This document is a list of "seized items". However, there is no trace of the examination in later documents.
Attempted poisoning with Novichok in 2020
Alexander Polupan, who treated Navalny following his poisoning with Novichok in 2020, stated that the symptoms described in the first version of the document do not align with the official cause of death provided by the Russian authorities.
"These symptoms can hardly be explained by anything other than poisoning," he emphasised in a conversation with The Insider's journalists. He added that the opposition leader might have been poisoned with a substance similar to Novichok but suggested "it may have been applied internally rather than topically".
Other doctors, who spoke to the portal, also agreed with this opinion.
In 2020, Navalny was taken with symptoms of poisoning to the German Charite hospital. After toxicological examinations, the government of the Federal Republic of Germany released a statement informing that the substance Navalny was poisoned with was a chemical agent from the Novichok group. The same agent was used to poison, among others, Sergei Skripal - a double agent who worked in both Russian and British intelligence.
