Alexei Navalny has died, reports Reuters.
TV4’s foreign reporter Jona Källgren followed the Russian activist from a hospital in Germany back to his homeland – until the last seconds of freedom.
– Everyone wondered practically the same thing: Why are you going back?
The Russian regime critic Alexei Navalny has died in prison, according to the Russian penitentiary service.
He has been imprisoned for just over three years and according to TV4’s foreign reporter Jona Källgren, he was seen by many as the hope for a changed and more democratic Russia.
– That hope has slowly died after he started being moved around to more or less brutal camps, he says.
“Another argument”
From the political side, statements are expected to pour in during the day. US Vice President Kamala Harris is to give a speech in the afternoon where she is expected to condemn Navalny’s death.
– The political reactions will be that it is the Russian regime that more or less killed him. For the American administration, it will be yet another argument why they must be tough on the Putin regime. There is no hope that it is a regime you can work with, says Jona Källgren.
When Alexei Navalny was poisoned by the nerve agent Novichok in August 2020, he was rushed to a hospital in Germany where he was treated for several months. When he then decided to return to Russia on January 17, 2021, a number of journalists came along. Jona Källgren was one of them.
– It was chaos. And everyone wondered practically the same thing: Why are you going back?
Arrested immediately
When Jona Källgren asked if he was not afraid to return, Navalny was clear:
– “I’m not afraid, it’s my homeland. Why should I be afraid?”.
Jona tells us that the plane had to change its landing. The airport where they intended to land had been filled with sympathizers. When the plane finally landed, he was immediately arrested at the security checkpoint.
– It was incredibly dramatic. He got to hug his wife before he disappeared. It was the last seconds he was free, says Jona Källgren.