Alexei Navalny: Talks were in ‘final stages’ for critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin to take part in prisoner swap before death

He could have been swapped for a Russian prisoner held in Germany

Alexei Navalny – the fierce critic of Vladimir Putin who died in a Siberian penal colony earlier this month – was set to take part in a prisoner swap with a Russian prisoner being held in Germany, his team has claimed.

An associate of the Russian opposition leader said talks were under way shortly before his death to exchange Mr Navalny for a Russian imprisoned in Germany.

“Alexei Navalny could have been sitting here now, today – it’s not a figure of speech,” Maria Pevchikh, who lives outside Russia, said in a video statement.

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny died earlier this month.

She said she received confirmation the talks were in the “final stages” on February 15, the day before Mr Navalny was reported dead.

According to Ms Pevchikh, Mr Navalny and two US citizens held in Russia were supposed to be swapped for Vadim Krasikov. He was serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 killing in Berlin of Zelimkhan ‘Tornike’ Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen of Chechen descent.

She did not identify the US citizens who were supposedly part of the deal.

There are several in custody in Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, and Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan, convicted of espionage and serving a long prison sentence. They and the US government dispute the charges against them.

German officials have refused to comment when asked if there had been any effort by Russia to secure a swap of Mr Krasikov.

US commentator Tucker Carlson earlier this month asked President Vladimir Putin about the prospects of exchanging Mr Gershkovich, and Mr Putin said the Kremlin was open to negotiations.

He pointed to a man imprisoned in a “US-allied country” for “liquidating a bandit” who had allegedly killed Russian soldiers during separatist fighting in Chechnya. Mr Putin did not mention names, but appeared to refer to Krasikov.

Mr Navalny, a long-time anti-corruption activist in Russia who died aged 47, died in prison in the Russian region of Siberia. In December, he seemed to have disappeared from the prison near Moscow where he had been held and was not contactable by his legal team, who feared for his safety. However, he later turned up in a prison in Siberia.

Mr Navalny announced his intent to run against Mr Putin in the presidential elections in 2018. However, he was barred from doing so due to a prior criminal conviction for corruption. Mr Navalny subsequently called for a boycott of the election. In 2020, he was hospitalised in Omsk, Russia, on suspicion of poisoning, but survived.

His wife, Yulia Navalnaya, has hinted she may continue his work.

Ms Pevchikh alleged in her video that Mr Putin “wouldn’t tolerate” setting Mr Navalny free and decided to “get rid of the bargaining chip”.

His family spent a week fighting with the authorities, who reportedly insisted on a secret funeral, before his body was returned to them.

Western nations have imposed more sanctions on Russia in response to Mr Navalny’s death as well as for the invasion of Ukraine, which marked its second anniversary on Saturday.

Mr Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on Monday they were looking for a venue for a memorial service later this week.