Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny could have been included in a prisoner swap between Moscow and the West if he had not died in prison on Feb. 16, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at a briefing on Aug. 1.
Independent experts and Western politicians say that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is personally responsible for Navalny's death. Some argue that Navalny was killed intentionally, while others say he died due to harsh conditions and lack of medical treatment.
Sullivan's statement came after a major prisoner exchange that involved 26 people from seven countries — U.S., Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia, and Belarus.
Eight of them, including convicted Russian hitman Vadim Krasikov, were returned to Russia in exchange for the release of 16 people who were held in Russian detention, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and three Navalny associates.
"We had been working with our partners on a deal that would have included Alexei Navalny. Unfortunately, he died," Sullivan said.
"In fact, on the very day that he died, I saw Evan's parents and I told that the president was determined to get this done even in light of that tragic news and that we were going to work day and night to get to this day. That work continued over the course of the past few months and culminated into today."
Navalny, Putin's main political opponent, died on Feb. 16 in a penal colony in northern Russia, after being convicted in several fabricated criminal cases as part of the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent.
Leonid Volkov, the former chief of staff to Navalny, also said that the Russian opposition leader was supposed to be included in the prisoner exchange.
"This is the very exchange in which, as we had hoped, Alexei Navalny was to be released in February this year," Volkov wrote on Telegram.
"But Putin decided he wouldn't give Navalny up for anything. And killed him just a couple of days before the exchange could take place," he added.
Prior to his death, a Moscow court had sentenced Navalny to another 19 years in prison in August 2023 after being convicted of "creating an extremist community," namely the Anti-Corruption Foundation.
The EU, the U.S., and the U.K. criticized the court's sentence, saying it was politically motivated, and demanded the immediate release of Navalny.
Nate Ostiller
(Updated: )
