UN Secretary General Condemns Alexei Navalny's Death And Requests Transparent Investigation

Soundmaker for the film 'Navalny' Marcus Vetter performed screenings and presentations of the film 'Navalny' in Jakarta, (photo; dock. intermediate)

JAKARTA - The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, declared "surprised" by the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, and urged a thorough, credible and transparent investigation into the incident, according to his spokesman Stephane Dujarric, on Friday.

"The Secretary General was shocked by the news about the deaths and detention of opposition figure Alexei Navalny," Dujarric told reporters, conveying his condolences to Navalny's family.

The Russian correctional agency on Friday announced that Navalny died in the prison where he served his sentence. They stated that Navalny lost consciousness after a walk in the Arctic Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, where the prison is located.

Navalny was arrested in January 2021 after being hospitalized in Germany due to poisoning. Western countries and Navalny blamed Russia for the poisoning incident, a charge the Kremlin denies.

In August, Navalny was sentenced to 19 years in prison on charges of extremism and other crimes. Previously, he had served 11.5 years in prison for fraud.