Prison official says Navalny died of ‘sudden death syndrome,’ Russian Investigative Committee says cause of death remains unknown

A representative of the Arctic Circle prison where Alexey Navalny died told the politician’s mother that her son died of “sudden death syndrome,” according to Navalny associate Ivan Zhdanov.

Officials from the Russian Investigative Committee branch in the area, however, told Navalny’s lawyer that the reason for his death has not been determined, according to Navalny’s press secretary Kira Yarmysh. They reportedly said that a “second histological examination” is being conducted and that the results will be available next week. “It’s obvious that they’re lying and doing everything they can to avoid giving up the body,” Yarmysh wrote on Twitter.

Yarmysh also said that the Investigative Committee said it will not give Navalny’s body to his family until its official examination is finished.

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