US says working to confirm death of Russian opposition figure Navalny

WASHINGTON

US Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday said Washington is working to confirm Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny's death, adding that this would be "a further sign of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's brutality."

"This is of course terrible news, which we are working to confirm," Harris said during her remarks at the Munich Security Conference.

"My prayers are with his family, including his wife, Yulia, who is with us today," she said. "And if confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putin's brutality."

"Whatever story they tell, let us be clear: Russia is responsible," she added.

The Russian penitentiary service said Friday that Navalny had died in a prison colony where he was serving his sentence.

The service said in a statement that Navalny lost consciousness after a walk in the Arctic Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, where the colony is located.

Navalny was arrested in January 2021 after a hospital stay in Germany, where he was being treated for poisoning. Western countries and Navalny himself blamed Russia for the poisoning, a claim the Kremlin denies.

In August, he was handed a 19-year prison sentence on charges of extremism, and other crimes. He was already serving an 11.5-year sentence on fraud charges.