According to his team, Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who died in a Russian prison camp, could have been exchanged for the Tiergarten murderer imprisoned in Germany. “Nawalny should be released in the next few days because we had reached a decision to replace him,” said the political director of the Navalny Anti-Corruption Fund, Maria Pevchich, in a video published on YouTube.
At the beginning of February, Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin was made an offer according to which the zoo murderer Wadim K., who was convicted in Germany in December 2021, could have been handed over to Russia – in exchange for Navalny and two Americans. Pewtschich did not say who exactly was involved in the development of these supposed exchange plans and how specific they were. There was initially no information about this from the federal government.
The federal government did not provide any further information in response to questions. Deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann referred to earlier statements and said: “And I can’t answer that now other than that we can’t comment on it.” When asked, she said: “I can’t comment on that at the moment.”
Pevchich accused Putin of personally ordering Navalny’s killing. He did not want to release Navalny at any price. Pewtschich suspects that he realized that the West was ready to exchange Vadim K. and then decided to get rid of Navalny as an exchange object. “This is the absolutely illogical, irrational behavior of a crazy Mafiosi,” she said.
Wadim K. murdered a Chechen exile in Berlin in 2019. K. is said to have committed the murder on behalf of Russian state authorities. There had been repeated speculation that Putin wanted to free him as part of a prisoner exchange. He most recently confirmed this in an interview with US talk show host Tucker Carlson.
Kremlin denies demand for Navalny’s secret burial
Meanwhile, after the days-long struggle over Navalny’s body, the Kremlin denies attempting to influence his relatives. “Of course the Kremlin cannot exert any pressure. These are further absurd statements by (Navalny’s) supporters,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Interfax news agency. Navalny’s mother received her son’s body over the weekend after previously calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to hand it over and publicly complaining about pressure from investigators. They wanted to pressure her to bury her son secretly, she said.
The circumstances of the death are not clear. The politician, weakened by the poison attack in 2020 and repeated solitary confinement in the camp, is said to have collapsed during a tour of the icy prison yard and died despite attempts to resuscitate him. According to Navalny’s team, the death certificate mentions “natural” causes. The politician was 47 years old at the time of death.
Authorities kept the body under wraps for more than a week. It is still unclear where and how the burial will take place. Mother Lyudmila Navalnaya called for a public funeral so that not only family members but also supporters could say goodbye to the Russian opposition leader. Navalnaya rejected a request from investigators to agree to a secret funeral and publicly accused the authorities of blackmail.
