Ally of Navalny: He Was About to Be Released from Prison

Maria Pevchikh, an ally of Alexei Navalny, indicated today, Monday, that "the Russian opposition politician was about to be released from prison in a prisoner exchange deal at the time of his death," and reiterated her claim that President "Vladimir Putin is the one who killed him." Pevchikh mentioned on YouTube that discussions regarding the exchange of Navalny and two unnamed Americans for Vadim Krasykov, a contract killer affiliated with the Russian Federal Security Service and imprisoned in Germany, were in the final stages. Navalny (47 years old) died in a penal colony in the Arctic on February 16. The Kremlin has denied state involvement in his death.