Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in a penal colony on February 16th, 2024, was close to being freed in a prisoner swap deal, according to one of his allies.
In a video, Maria Pevchikh, currently residing overseas, stated that she had been notified about the negotiations nearing completion on February 15, the day before the politician’s death.
She mentioned that Alexei Navalny and two U.S. citizens held in Russia were supposed to be exchanged for Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2023 and is serving a life sentence for the murder of a former separatist of Chechen descent named Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, in a Berlin park.
German judges said that the alleged hitman acted on the orders of Russian authorities, who gave him a false identity, passport, and resources to carry out the killing. Russia has denied any involvement in the murder, and has demanded Krasikov’s extradition.
Maria Pevchikh did not name the U.S. citizens, but one of them could be Evan Gershkovich, a journalist who was arrested in Moscow in 2022 on espionage charges.
She also alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin had Navalny killed in jail to sabotage the prisoner swap, because he “could not tolerate” the thought of him being free. She said that Putin had decided to “get rid of the object of bargaining” by killing Navalny.
The Russian authorities earlier claimed that the late politician, who is considered by many as Putin’s most formidable adversary, wasn’t feeling too well during his walk on the 16th and had fallen unconscious. He was later pronounced dead by the ambulance they had called to revive him at the Arctic prison, where he was serving a 19-year sentence for extremism.
Since his death, there have been massive protests across Russia and the world, as well as sanctions and diplomatic pressure from the U.S. and the EU. His allies have called for an international investigation into his death, and have vowed to continue his fight against corruption and authoritarianism in Russia.
The prisoner swap deal was reportedly initiated by the U.S. government, which has been seeking to improve relations with Russia and to secure the release of its citizens detained there. The U.S. has not confirmed or denied the existence of the deal, but has expressed its condolences and condemnation over Alexei Navalny’s death.