According to a new report, Alexei Navalny’s body shows signs of bruising.
The wounds are consistent with the Russian opposition leader – who died on Friday aged 47 amid claims he was ‘murdered’ by Vladimir Putin’s regime – suffering an ‘attack’, according to independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe.
The news channel spoke to a paramedic from the Salekhard ambulance service, close to the IK-3 penal colony, also known as ‘Polar Wolf’, where 47-year-old Navalny was held before reports of his death emerged on Friday.
His ambulance colleagues found bruises on Navalny’s body, which is now under police guard in a mortuary at Salekhard’s clinical district hospital, the independent news outlet said.
“Such damage is caused by convulsions,” the paramedic said.
According to a new report, the body of Alexei Navalny (pictured) shows signs of bruising
Vladimir Putin (pictured) is accused of arranging his assassination
A view of the entrance to the IK-3 prison colony in the city of Kharp, Yamalo-Nenetsk region, about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 mi) northeast of Moscow, Russia
“The person is convulsing, they try to restrain him, but the convulsions can be very severe, and that’s why bruising occurs.”
There were also signs that prison medics had tried to resuscitate Navalny, as there were signs of ‘chest compressions’.
“That is, they still tried to resuscitate him, and he most likely died of cardiac arrest. But no one wants to say yet why this stop took place.’
According to the newspaper, no autopsy has yet been performed.
Previously, Navalny’s mother was wrongly told that the politician’s body was in the main mortuary in Salekhard.
Now the family has been told that the cause of death has not yet been determined and his body cannot yet be handed over to relatives for burial.
Details about Navalny’s death are scarce and the data made public are contradictory.
Details about Navalny’s death are scarce and the data made public are contradictory.
Police officers detain a woman during a rally in memory of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at the Wall of Grief monument
Navalny’s allies say they were denied the chance to see the body, which would remain with authorities until the investigation was completed.
Russian police officers stand near the flowers at the Wall of Grief monument, laid in memory of Alexei Navalny
Just two minutes after the time Navalny was said to have died – 2:17 p.m. – Russia’s prison service released a statement revealing his death.
Four minutes later, a Kremlin-controlled Telegram channel claimed he had died of a blood clot, and just seven minutes later Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke to the media about it.
In addition, Kremlin officials reportedly told the opposition leader’s mother that he died of “sudden death syndrome” when she visited the brutal IK-3 Polar Wolf penal colony where he was held yesterday.
Navalny’s allies say they were denied the chance to see the body, which would remain with authorities until the investigation was completed.
Navalny’s lawyer, who arrived in the city of Salekhard on Saturday with Navalny’s mother, was told by the prison that the body was being held in the morgue.
But a contact at Salekhard’s mortuary later denied the body was there, raising further questions about the shocking death of one of Putin’s fiercest critics.
“It is clear that the killers want to cover their tracks and therefore will not hand over Alexei’s body, even for his mother,” his team said in a message on Telegram.
More to follow.