Bruises were spotted on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s head and chest when his body arrived at an Artic morgue, in a sign that he had experienced convulsions, a paramedic reportedly said.
Navalny was brought to the Salekhard District Clinical Hospital Friday after he died in the nearby Russian prison where he had been held ever since he was poisoned by a nerve agent in what is widely believed to have been an assassination attempt.
Bruises were spotted on Navalny’s head and chest when his body arrived, a paramedic told independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe in a Sunday article.
“As an experienced paramedic, I can say that the injuries described by those who saw them appeared to be from convulsions,” the paramedic said. “If a person is convulsing and others try to hold him down but the convulsions are very strong, then bruising appears.”
“They also said he had a bruise on his chest — the kind that comes from indirect cardiac massage,” the paramedic added.
The paramedic noted it seems attempts were made to resuscitate the 47-year-old opposition leader before he died of cardiac arrest, however, “nobody is saying anything about why he had a cardiac arrest.”
As of Saturday, no autopsy had been performed, according to the article.
Russian prison officials said that Navalny — a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin — died on Friday after he “felt unwell” during a walk at the IK-3 penal colony in remote Kharp, about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow.
Navalny, a married father of two, had been jailed since 2021 after returning home following a nerve agent poisoning widely assumed to have been an assassination attempt.
His spokesperson, Kira Yarmish, tweeted he had been “murdered” on Saturday, noting in a later message that Navalny’s lawyer and mother were unable to view him at the Salekhard morgue and accused the Russian authorities of a cover-up.
His lawyers were told that “the cause of Alexey’s death has not yet been established, a new historical examination has been carried out,” Yarmish tweeted.
Russian officials have insisted his death was “not of criminal nature.”
“It’s obvious that they are lying and doing everything they can to avoid handing over the body,” Yarmish wrote.
The US and other Western nations have also speculated that Navalny’s sudden death was the result of wrongdoing by Putin.
“If confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putin’s brutality,” Vice President Kamala Harris said of hearing the “terrible news” while at a conference with other world leaders in Germany.
“Whatever story they tell, let us be clear — Russia is responsible.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was “obvious” Navalny was killed by Putin.
“Putin doesn’t care who dies — only for him to hold his position. This is why he must hold onto nothing. Putin must lose everything and be held responsible for his deeds.”
The Russian leader has been informed of Navalny’s death, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.
Navalny rose to prominence in Russia more than a decade ago by poking fun at the elite class around Putin and voicing allegations of corruption on a vast scale.
He became known worldwide in August 2020 when he was poisoned in Siberia, which Western laboratory tests showed was an attempt to kill him with a nerve agent.
The Kremlin denied trying to kill Navalny, insisting there was no evidence he had been poisoned with a nerve agent.
Navalny was immediately arrested upon his return to Russia in 2021.