Navalny was to be released in prisoner swap before his death – Ally

Alexei Navalny was supposed to be released in exchange for another prisoner when he died, as said by his friend Maria Pevchikh.

She said the Russian opposition leader was going to be traded for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian hitman who is in prison for life in Germany.

Two Americans in Russia were also going to be included in the agreement, according to Ms.

She said that talks will be finished on February 15th.

The day after, Mr Navalny passed away in his prison cell in Siberia. He was serving a 19-year sentence for charges that many people believed were brought against him for political reasons. The 47-year-old got sick after going for a walk, according to prison officials.

In a video on Mr. Navalny’s YouTube channel, Ms. Pevchikh, who leads his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), said they had been talking about exchanging prisoners for two years. She said that when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, it was clear that Putin would do anything. She also said that Mr. Navalny needed to be released from jail no matter what and right away.

Ms Pevchik said Mr. Navalny was going to be released because of a humanitarian swap, and American and German officials were part of the negotiations.

She said they finally made a solid plan to exchange prisoners in December.

Vadim Krasikov, a Russian man, was found guilty of shooting a former Chechen rebel leader in the head in Germany in 2019. He was going to be included in the agreement.

Two people from the US who are currently being detained in Russia are also going to be traded, Ms. Pevchikh said, but she did not say who they are.

In February, President Putin said he was talking to the US about releasing American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who is in jail for spying.

President Putin suggested that Russia would welcome a person who, for patriotic reasons, killed a criminal in a European city during the conflicts in the Caucasus. This almost certainly refers to Krasikov.

Ms Pevchikh says that Russian President Vladimir Putin changed his decision about the deal at the very end. She said he didn’t want Navalny to be free. Since there was a tentative agreement for Krasikov’s release, Mr Putin decided to get rid of the bargaining chip and offer someone else instead.

“Ms Pevchikh said that Putin hates Navalny very much. ” “He knows that Navalny could have beaten him. ”

President Putin used to work for the KGB. He often says he will do something, but then does the opposite.

He and his government have been following this policy for almost 25 years.

Before Russia attacked Ukraine, President Putin and some Russian officials kept saying they did not plan to invade the country.

We don’t know what happened to Navalny in prison, but the Kremlin has a history of pretending to negotiate for someone’s release without actually planning to let them go.

Ms Pevchikh’s video got hundreds of thousands of views within an hour of being published.

The Kremlin has not responded yet to the claims made by Ms Pevchikh. President Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has said before that the accusations of government involvement in Navalny’s death are “ridiculous”.

At first, the authorities didn’t want to give Navalny’s body to his mother. They finally agreed to do so eight days after he died.

On Monday, Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmish wrote on social media that his friends are searching for a place where people can gather to say goodbye to him later this week.

The government will keep a close watch on this event, if it’s allowed to happen.

A group that protects people’s rights said that 400 Russians were arrested all over the country for putting flowers to honor Navalny after he died.