Alexei Navalny Died Due to 'Sudden Death Syndrome', His Mother Told

Russian President, Vladimir Putin’s most outspoken critic, Alexei Navalny died due to “sudden death syndrome”, his mother was told on Saturday.

According to a Reuters report, Navalny’s family was also told his body would not be handed over to them until an investigation was completed, his team said.

Navalny, 47, died in the Arctic prison colony on Friday where he was serving a three-decade jail sentence. In a statement, Russia’s federal penitentiary service said Navalny fell and lost consciousness after a walk at the “Polar Wolf” penal colony in Kharp, about 1,900 km (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow, and could not be revived by medics.

Navalny’s 69-year-old mother, Lyudmila, visited the penal colony on Saturday where her son died. She was given an official death notice stating the time of death as 2:17 pm local time (0917 GMT) on February 16, Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, told Reuters.

“When Alexei’s lawyer and mother arrived at the colony this morning, they were told that the cause of Navalny’s death was sudden death syndrome,” Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said in an X post.

Western government came down heavily on President Putin over Navalny’s death.

Speaking on NPR, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the Kremlin’s “long and sordid” history of harming its opponents “raises real and obvious questions about what happened here.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called it a “terrible news” and a “huge tragedy” for the people of Russia. “As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life,” Sunak said on X, adding that his “thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia”.

The Kremlin called the West’s reaction unacceptable and “absolutely rabid”. President Putin has not commented on Navalny’s death- yet.