Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, has rejected a new report from Russian investigators claiming her husband died from an irregular heartbeat and multiple health problems, calling it a “pathetic attempt to hide what happened – a murder.” 

Navalny, a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, died at a prison colony in Siberia six months ago. Navalny reported feeling unwell after a walk before losing consciousness and dying.   

Investigators now allege in a report shared Wednesday by Navalnaya that the 47-year-old passed away due to a range of health issues, including arrhythmia and cholecystitis, inflammation of the gallbladder.  

“The truth is that this is not a diagnosis, not the results of a test, but a mockery. This is another rather pathetic attempt to hide what happened — a murder,” “And everyone who writes these papers, writes these false reports — are accomplices to this murder.” 

 

“I showed this diagnosis to my doctors. They all came to the same conclusion: they opened it up, examined it, but couldn’t find anything — no blood clot, no signs of a heart attack or stroke either,” she added. “So they wrote about ‘arrhythmia’ to at least write something. Because people don’t just die like that.” 

“All these chronic diseases, like the gastroduodenitis and pancreatitis listed by the investigator… Well, excuse me, every third person in Russia has such diseases. Suddenly, in an hour, you don’t die from such things. But even if we assume that they existed… why weren’t they diagnosed in the numerous colonies where Alexei was? Why wasn’t he treated? Why was such a sick person sent to a punishment cell and kept there for months?” Navalnaya continued. 

 

“There can be one explanation for this. The only one. They killed him, and now they are trying to cover up the tracks as much as possible,” she said. 

and his obliging comrades… think that we will now shrug our shoulders and say ‘well, okay, so no’ — they are deeply mistaken. The lawyers will appeal every such document. We will demand that a criminal case be opened,” Navalnaya concluded. “I demand that they hand over to us all the medical documents, including the autopsy report… and also that they hand over all of Alexei’s personal belongings.” 

In February, President Biden said there is “no doubt” that Navalny’s death was a “consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.”