The Russian prison service reported that Alexei Navalny died Friday, after collapsing at the penal colony located north of the Arctic Circle, where he had been serving a lengthy jail sentence.

Navalny (47), rose to fame more than a ten years ago by satirizing President Vladimir Putin, and the Russian elite, whom he accused a vast corruption, avarice, and opulence.

Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets District Autonomous District stated in a press release that Navalny had “felt unwell”, after taking a walk in the IK-3 penal settlement in Kharp. This is located about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles), north-east of Moscow.

It said that he lost consciousness almost instantly.

“All necessary resuscitation procedures were performed, but they did not produce positive results.” The prison service reported that the doctors of the ambulance had confirmed the death of a convict.

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, said that Putin was informed of Navalny’s death. Putin, who will be running for reelection next month, is shown in a TV clip visiting an Urals factory.

Navalny’s supporters said that they couldn’t confirm his death, but if it was true then they thought he had died.

Leonid Volkov, Navalny’s aide, wrote on social media that “Russian authorities published a confession stating they murdered Alexei Navalny while in prison.” “We have no way to confirm or disprove this.”

Western governments quickly condemned the actions.

Tobias Billstrom, Swedish Foreign Minister, said: “Alexei Navalny’s death in Russian jail is a terrible crime. If it is true,”

The brutality against Navalny is a reminder of why we must continue the fight against authoritarianism.

DEATH IN JAIL

Navalny’s lawyer was on the way to Kharp’s “Polar Wolf”, where Navalny had died. The Russian state-run television broadcast a press conference of the central bank.

Dmitry Muratov, a Russian journalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, told Reuters that the death of Alexei Navalny in jail was “murder” and he believes harsh treatment led to it.

Muratov offered his condolences, saying that he was “convinced” that Navalny died because of the conditions in which he was detained.

Navalny won the admiration of Russia’s diverse opposition by returning to Russia from Germany in 2021, where he was treated for what Western lab tests revealed to be an attempt to poison his with a chemical agent.

Navalny claimed at the time he had been poisoned in Siberia, in August 2020. The Kremlin said it had no evidence that he was poisoned and denied that they were trying to kill him.

In an interview conducted in Moscow by Reuters in 2011, Navalny answered that he did not fear challenging Putin’s regime.

He said, “That is the difference between you and me: You are afraid and I’m not afraid.” “I know there’s danger, but why am I afraid?”