Alexei Navalny, a leading voice of opposition and anti-corruption in Russia, died Friday while serving a 19-year sentence in an Artic penal colony. He was 47.
Russian authorities have not released the cause of the political prisoner’s death, only that Navalny felt sick and collapsed after a walk. President Biden believes Navalny’s death was the work of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The answer is, we don’t know exactly what happened,” Biden said. “But there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.”
While there was no immediate response, the Biden administration is reportedly exploring new sanctions and trade restrictions on Russia.
A spokesperson for the late Alexei Navalny declared the deceased Russian opposition leader to have been murdered.
Spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh made the claim on Saturday via a post on social media platform X.
“Alexei Navalny was murdered. His death occurred on February 16 at 2:17 p.m. local time, according to the official message to Alexei’s mother,” said Yarmysh. “An employee of the colony said that the body of Navalny is now in Salekhard.”