Alexey Navalny’s team confirms his death, calls for body to be returned

The entrance to the IK-3 penal colony where Alexey Navalny was jailed - and died, in the Yamal-Nenets region, Russia, February 17, 2024 [Maxim Shemetov/Reuters]

The death of the Russian leader’s biggest opponent, Alexey Navalny, has been confirmed by his team, with his spokesperson saying the Kremlin critic “was murdered”.

Navalny died at 2:17pm (09:17 GMT) on February 16, according to the notice given to his mother, spokesperson Kira Yarmysh wrote on X on Saturday in the first confirmation from his allies.