Alexei Navalny's wife makes a bombshell accusation about his death | WATCH
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, claimed that independent tests on biological samples secretly transported abroad prove her husband was deliberately poisoned. She asserted that two foreign laboratories concluded his death was a targeted killing, not a natural one, and demanded they publicly release their findings.
Yulia Navalnaya, widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, claimed that independent tests from two foreign laboratories on smuggled biological samples prove her husband was deliberately poisoned before his sudden death in an Arctic penal colony last year.
In a video statement posted on X, Navalnaya detailed how Navalny's allies secretly obtained biological material from him in February 2024, shortly after his death on February 16 and transported it abroad for analysis. "Laboratories in two different countries conducted examinations. These laboratories, independently of each other, concluded that Alexei was poisoned," she said, adding that the results indicate his death was not natural but a targeted killing. She did not disclose the type of poison detected or the identities of the labs, citing "political considerations" for their reluctance to publish the findings publicly, but demanded they release the reports to reveal what she called an "inconvenient truth" the public deserves to know.
Navalnaya, 49, has long accused the Kremlin of orchestrating her husband's murder, a charge vehemently denied by Russian authorities who maintain Navalny, 47 at the time, died from natural causes including a combination of diseases and arrhythmia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded Wednesday that he was unaware of the claims and declined to comment further.
The video includes photos of the punishment cell in the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp, above the Arctic Circle, where Navalny was held. Navalnaya described obtaining testimony from five prison staff members who witnessed his agony: severe abdominal pain, convulsions, vomiting, and screams as he clutched his stomach on the floor before being isolated in the tiny cell. Images show remnants of vomit on the concrete floor, and she noted that despite surveillance cameras in the facility, no footage has been released, suggesting a cover-up.
"Alexei lay on the floor and pulled his knees up to his stomach and moaned in pain," Navalnaya recounted, emphasizing symptoms inconsistent with the official natural-death narrative. She dismissed Russian investigators' August 2024 report attributing his death to multiple illnesses, noting Navalny had no prior heart issues.
The Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), Navalny's organization now led internationally by Navalnaya, facilitated the sample transfer and staff interviews, according to her statement. U.S. intelligence has previously assessed that President Vladimir Putin did not personally order the killing, per reports from the Associated Press and Wall Street Journal, though Navalnaya reiterated her belief in Kremlin responsibility.
Navalny's Legacy and Prior Poisoning
Navalny, a fierce Putin critic known for exposing elite corruption through viral investigations, had survived a previous assassination attempt in August 2020 when he was poisoned with the Novichok nerve agent on a flight in Siberia. Treated in Germany, he blamed the FSB security service, a claim backed by Western labs and Bellingcat investigations. He returned to Russia in January 2021, was immediately arrested, and sentenced to 19 years on charges of extremism and fraud, which he and supporters called politically motivated.
Navalny described Russia under Putin as a "systemic rot" ruled by criminals and sycophants profiting from corruption, warning in his final writings of potential political upheaval. His death created a leadership vacuum in the opposition, but Navalnaya has vowed to continue his fight, addressing the European Parliament in recent months and calling for innovation to defeat the regime. She noted the truth of his murder is uncomfortable for some Western politicians but essential for accountability.
The Kremlin has branded Navalny's allies as extremists serving foreign interests, while Russian courts posthumously labeled his writings, including a 2024 memoir published by Navalnaya, as "extremist material." Navalnaya's revelation, shared by independent Russian media like Mediazona and Meduza, has reignited global calls for investigations into his death, with supporters viewing it as further evidence of Putin's crackdown on dissent amid the Ukraine war.