Russian lawyer, activist and politician Alexi Navalny died this week in a Siberian prison colony, where he was serving a 19-year prison sentence. 

As the leader of the Russian opposition party and an outspoken critic of Putin, Navalny had been detained for an array of dubious charges since January 2021.

In early 2020, Navalny was poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve toxin that nearly killed him. He spent several months receiving intensive care in Berlin following the incident, where he publicly accused Putin’s government of being behind the poisoning. 

Navalny was arrested upon his return to Russia, and was sentenced to 19 years in prison for a slew of offenses, including embezzlement, contempt of court, and violation of parole. He spent the remainder of his life appealing the charges, which he maintained were erroneous. 

Throughout his time in prison, Navalny claimed he was being slowly poisoned by the prison food, and that he was denied basic medicine and subjected to physical abuse by guards.

Russian state media reported that Navalny had died in prison on Feb. 16. A cause of death has not been made public. For more information, visit Al Jazeera.