Now Putin is going after Alexei Navalny’s family: an arrest warrant is issued for the ‘murdered’ brother of the opposition leader who fled Russia

The brother of late Russian dissident Alexei Navalny is reportedly facing unspecified new criminal charges as tensions rise over the circumstances of Alexei’s shocking death last week.

Oleg Navalny, who is currently in exile, has been added to Russia’s “wanted list” by the Interior Ministry, Russian state media said. TASS.

It was not immediately clear on what legal basis the case against the 40-year-old had been opened. TASS announced that charges had been filed ‘without providing any details’.

Oleg was already on the ministry’s wanted list in connection with another case, in which he allegedly violated Russia’s Covid-19 lockdown restrictions by encouraging people to join his brother’s anti-government protests .

But the decision to arrest him now comes at a sensitive time following protests across Europe over the sudden death of anti-corruption activist and opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a brutal penal colony in the Arctic on February 16.

Oleg Navalny, brother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, is seen outside a hospital, where Alexei is receiving medical treatment in Omsk, Russia, August 21, 2020

People hold signs as they attend a protest following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Berlin, Germany, February 18, 2024

The sudden death of Alexei Navalny in the IK-3 penal colony in Kharp last week has left many questions unanswered, sparking protests across Europe and prompting his supporters to renew their commitment to continuing his anti-corruption activism reconfirm.

Navalny is said to have died on Friday after suddenly collapsing after a walk. On Saturday, his mother and team traveled to the camp, where they were told investigators were still determining the cause of death.

Lyudmila Navalnaya asked to see her son’s body, but was told it was in the nearby Salekhard Mortuary. They were later told it had been moved, leading to suspicions that Russia had hidden Navalny’s body while waiting for traces of a nerve agent to disappear.

Russian investigators claimed on Saturday that Navalny had died of sudden adult death syndrome, but later said they would not hand over Navalny’s body for 14 days while a “chemical examination” takes place.

Navalny was previously suspected of being poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in 2020 after he suddenly fell ill while returning from investigations into corruption in Siberia.

For years he had worked with his brother Oleg to expose corruption in the Russian state and advocate for democratic reforms, fighting repeated attempts to close their organizations and bring charges against them suspected of had political motives.

In January 2021, Oleg was given a one-year suspended sentence for his alleged incitement of protest during the Covid pandemic.

Notably, unauthorized protest is also illegal in Russia, prompting swift and harsh responses from Russian police.

Oleg was banned from leaving his home at night, attending mass events and leaving Moscow as part of his sentence, before a correctional inspectorate filed a request to imprison him.

Before the decision became final in February 2022, Oleg had already fled Russia Radio-free Europe.

The request was later withdrawn but nevertheless sparked outrage among the Navalny brothers’ supporters, who believed it was a targeted political attack.

A month later, Alexei Navalny, already languishing in prison, was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony with a strict regime after being found guilty of fraud and contempt of court.

Prosecutors accused him of stealing $4.7 million in donations to clandestine organizations, including his anti-corruption foundation.

The ruling was to replace his current sentence, meaning he would have to spend another seven years in a remote, high-security prison, where he would face even harsher conditions than in Moscow, after being jailed for allegedly violating parole after being sent to Germany to be released. treated for Novichok poisoning.

The 2020 nerve agent poisoning involved Russian officials in the eyes of Western leaders when Alexei returned from an investigation into corruption in Siberia.

Oleg Navalny at Omsk Ambulance Hospital No. 1, intensive care unit where Alexei Navalny was hospitalized in Omsk, Russia in 2020 after Novichok nerve agent poisoning

Members of the Russian activist group Pussy Riot hold up a sign in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin on February 18, 2024, following the shocking death of opposition leader Navalny

A woman holds a sign with a face painted the color of blood during a protest in front of the Russian Embassy in Berlin, Germany, Friday, February 16, 2024

He and his brother had already been targeted in 2014, both convicted of stealing about $500,000 from two Russian companies, one linked to French cosmetics company Yves Rocher, and the other allegedly laundering some of the money.

Both denied the allegations and claimed the case was politically motivated.

Alexei was ultimately given a suspended sentence, while Oleg was only released at the end of June 2018, after serving the full term.