Moscow: Weeks before the death of Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critic, he was set to be freed from prison in exchange for a Russian agent imprisoned in Germany. However, Putin was unwilling to let him go free and ordered Navalny’s killing, said one of Navalny’s close associates.
“Navalny was supposed to be freed in the coming days,” Maria Pevchikh said in a video statement. Negotiations were underway to trade Alexei Navalny along with two Americans, for a Russian agent imprisoned in Germany.
In her video message, Pevchikh also claimed that the idea of trading Navalny for Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian assassin serving a life sentence in Germany, was presented to Vladimir Putin by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich,
The negotiations to release Navalny had reached the “final stage” after two efforts. However, Pevchikh accused the Russian president of ordering the killing of Navalny because he was unwilling to let his most outspoken critic go free. Vadim Krasikov, who was expected to be traded for Navalny, had links to Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB. At present, he is serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 killing of a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park.
In her video message, Pevchikh didn’t mention the name of the two Americans who were a part of the prisoner swap. “Putin was clearly told that the only way to get Krasikov is to exchange him for Navalny,” said Pevchikh. Instead, he decided to “get rid of the bargaining chip” and “offer someone else when the time comes.”
Navalny, 47, died at an Arctic penal colony on February 16. The Kremlin has denied Russia had any involvement in his death. Navalny’s death certificate stated that he died of natural causes, according to his supporters. Pevchikh alleged Navalny had been killed a day later because Putin could not tolerate the thought of him being free.
