Two days before Alexei Navalny was pronounced dead at the Polar Wolf prison in Harpa, several officers of the FSB, Russia’s intelligence service, allegedly arrived at the penitentiary and disconnected and dismantled some security cameras and surveillance devices. Listening from there, I write The Moscow Times, The Sunday Times and Gulagu.net.

This visit, which activists say is mentioned in the report of the local office of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN), was not the only suspicious event surrounding the death of the opposition figure.

Equally surprising was the speed with which authorities announced and commented on the tragedy at the penitentiary 1,200 miles from Moscow, according to a timeline published by the human rights group Gulagu.net.

Just two minutes after Navalny, 47, was officially announced dead – at 2:17 p.m. local time (9:17 a.m. GMT) – the prison service issued what appeared to be a prepared press release. Four minutes later, the state-controlled Telegram channel said the death was due to a blood clot, and then, just seven minutes after that, Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov told the press.

“This rapid succession can only mean one thing,” the rights group argued.

“Everything was planned and agreed in advance, before the press release of the FSIN. Minute by minute. Second by second.”

A possible explanation was offered Saturday by a detainee who spoke to Novaya Gazeta, who said that as of Friday morning, Polar Wolf prisoners had known since morning that Navalny had died, which would have given authorities more than four hours. to prepare his answer. .

But, as you know, according to the prisoner, the previous evening, on Thursday, February 15, the prisoners were hurriedly counted and checked, several cars arrived at the colony.

Gulagu.net referred to the fact that Navalny spent up to four hours on the street in the yard on Friday at a temperature of about minus 20 degrees.

CCTV footage would confirm this if it were true.

It will also be determined whether he returned to the cell or whether he had to be transported.

Gulagu.net, founded by militant Volodymyr Osechkin, has contacts among political prisoners and was the first site to break the news that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late head of Wagner’s company, had recruited him from prisons.

The problem of the missing body

Officials initially said Navalny died of a blood clot or thrombosis. Prison officials told his mother that his body was in the morgue in Salekhard. However, on Saturday, staff said he was not there.

Officials said they would not release the body to his family until the investigation into his death is complete. Navalny’s associates accused the investigation of trying to hide evidence of Navalny’s murder.

“It is obvious that the killers want to cover their tracks, and therefore do not release Oleksiy’s body, hiding it even from his mother,” – reported on social networks.

Sources quoted by Novaya Gazeta report that his body was taken to the Salekhard District Clinical Hospital on Friday.

“Usually, the bodies of people who died in prisons are taken directly to the forensic medical ward on Glazkova Street, but in this case, for some reason, they were taken to the clinical hospital,” said the paramedic of the Salekhard ambulance.

“They took him to the morgue, brought him inside, and then placed two policemen in front of the door. They might as well put up a sign saying something mysterious is going on here! Of course, everyone wanted to know what happened, what the secret was and whether they were trying to hide something serious.”

According to a source cited by “Nova gazeta Europa”, bruises were found on the body of Oleksiy Navalny.

Chronology of the events surrounding the death of Oleksii Navalny

• February 14th

When Navalny was placed in detention for the 27th time, his team published an Instagram post dedicated to his wife, Yulia Navalny, on Valentine’s Day. This would be the last statement on social networks.

Meanwhile, a group of FSB employees and FSB-related Department “L” of the Federal Penitentiary Service arrived at the IK-3 colony, where Navalny is serving his sentence, reports Gulagu.net.

The FSB employees reconfigured the facility’s surveillance equipment and video surveillance systems, reports the NGO.

“There is reason to believe that the hidden cameras that could record what happened to Oleksiy Navalny on February 15-16 have been turned off and dismantled,” Gulagu.net reports.

• February 15

10:00 Navalny appeared via video link at the district court.

“He felt well, did not complain about his health, took an active part [la audiere]presented arguments in defense of his position,” the press service of the court informed RBC.

Navalny looked in a good mood in videos from the hearings that were shared online.

6:00 p.m.: The usual evening inspection of detainees was accelerated, a detainee who wished to remain anonymous told Novaya Gazeta Europa.

• February 16

Until 8:00 a.m.: the security guards conducted a thorough search of all the prisoners from the very morning and seized mobile phones, playing cards, the source of “Novaya Gazeta” reports.

8:00 a.m.: The prisoner interviewed by Novaya Gazeta claims that everyone in the pre-trial detention center learned about Navalny’s death at that moment.

“I think that Navalny died much earlier than the announced time. Most likely yesterday evening,” said the prisoner. “Otherwise, why would they lock us tightly in the barracks and arrange an inspection in the morning?”

Around 10:30 a.m.: According to the pretrial detention center’s management, Navalny was supposed to take a one-hour walk. He fainted immediately after returning from a walk.

At the same time, in a previous letter, Navalny wrote that prisoners who are in solitary confinement IK-3 are allowed to walk at 6:30 in the morning.

At around 11:45 a.m., after Navalny lost consciousness, an ambulance arrived at IK-3, which, according to Interfax, “carries out resuscitation measures that were already applied by the colony’s doctors.”

14:17 – The exact time of Navalny’s death, according to official information.

14:19 The Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District Correctional Service issued a press release about Navalny’s death.

14:20 Navalny’s death was reported by state news agencies.

14:21 The Kremlin-funded RT TV company, citing an anonymous source, reported that Navalny died of a blood clot.

2:30 p.m.: Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov said he did not know anything about the cause of Navalny’s death.

Peskov confirmed that President Vladimir Putin had been informed of Navalny’s death.