Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is dead, the prison service of the region where he had been serving his sentence says
Navalny, an outspoken critic of President Putin, has been in Russian jail since 2021 on charges widely viewed as politically motivated
Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, has said she doesn’t know whether the “horrible news” is true
Kira Yarmysh, Navalny’s spokesperson, said his team had yet to receive confirmation of the death but his lawyer was travelling to Siberia
Putin’s spokesman said Russian’s penitentiary service was looking into Navalny’s death but provided no further information
In August, Navalny was found guilty of founding and funding an extremist organisation, which he denies, and was given an extra 19 years in jail
He had already been sentenced to nine years for parole violations, fraud and contempt of court
