Did Putin poison Navalny behind bars? Suspicions over sudden death rise as nerve agent incident recalled

Prominent Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was declared dead on Friday by jail officials causing widespread condemnation of the Kremlin. The Russian elite has had a history of such cases where prominent or upcoming opposition leaders to the Kremlin were taken down. Alexei Navalny, a blogger in the early social media years, turned into a fierce force against Vladimir Putin backed by the West.

The 47-year-old led the anti-corruption movement against Putin and his associates. He was set to contest the previous general elections in Russia but was barred on corruption charges. Alexei Navalny serving a prison sentence was found dead in his cell. The prison authorities revealed that Alexei Navalny was feeling unwell after a walk and fell unconscious.

Though not confirmed, the case looks like another poisoning raising eyebrows towards the Kremlin. Alexei Navalny was already at the receiving end when he was brutally poisoned during air travel in August 2020. The leader was traveling from Siberia to Moscow and complained of pain mid-air. He was quickly taken to a Siberian hospital.

For better treatment facilities, the 47-year-old was airlifted to Berlin's Charité hospital. The Russian leader made a remarkable recovery, surprising even his friends, leave alone his enemies. Independent investigations in Germany, France, and the UK confirmed that Alexei Navalny was poisoned through a fierce nerve agent called Novichok. 

Novichok was used in the poisoning of former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK in 2018. Despite warnings, Navalny reached Moscow after a few months and was instantly arrested at the airport itself. Alexei Navalny was thrown into prison on corruption charges on a 19-year sentence.

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