![Was Navalny about to be released before his death?](https://cdn.buminteractif.com/2024/02/Alexei-Navalny-GettyImages-1172177746-1-6.jpg)
Members of the entourage of the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny shared that…
Talks were underway
![Talks were underway](https://cdn.buminteractif.com/2024/02/Nalalny-Russie-Putin-GettyImages-1942413486-1-5.jpg)
…talks were underway for his release in a prisoner exchange before his untimely death.
In a penal colony
![In a penal colony](https://cdn.buminteractif.com/2024/02/Alexei-Navalny-GettyImages-1231449717-1.jpg)
Alexey Navalny, an opponent of the Kremlin, died in a penal colony in the Arctic, where he was serving a 19-year sentence on charges widely regarded as political.
In the final phase
![In the final phase](https://cdn.buminteractif.com/2024/02/Navalny-GettyImages-1231273438-1.jpg)
A Navalny ally reveals that exchange talks were in the final stages.
Two US citizens
![Two US citizens](https://cdn.buminteractif.com/2024/02/Alexei-Navalny-GettyImages-2034273409-1.jpg)
According to sources, Navalny and two US nationals detained in Russia were being considered in the proposed exchange.
Contentious circumstances
![Contentious circumstances](https://cdn.buminteractif.com/2024/02/Alexei-Navalny-GettyImages-1240872471-1-5.jpg)
This statement raises questions about the alleged composition of the list, given the incarceration of several Americans in Russia under contentious circumstances.
Accused of espionage
![Accused of espionage](https://cdn.buminteractif.com/2024/02/Navalny-GettyImages-2030273922-1.jpg)
The presence of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage, and Michigan security official Paul Whelan, also convicted of espionage, is plausible.
Vladimir Putin
![Vladimir Putin](https://cdn.buminteractif.com/2024/02/Vladimir-Putin-GettyImages-1708471971-4.jpg)
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his willingness to negotiate, without mentioning any specific names, but apparently alluding to a Russian national detained in Germany and sentenced to life imprisonment since 2019.
No evidence
![No evidence](https://cdn.buminteractif.com/2024/02/Alexei-Navalny-GettyImages-1258925521-1.jpg)
No concrete evidence has been provided to support these claims.
A refusal by the authorities
![A refusal by the authorities](https://cdn.buminteractif.com/2024/02/Alexei-Navalny-GettyImages-2036334272-1.jpg)
The German authorities have refused to divulge any information about the Russian prisoner in custody and any possible exchange talks.