Disturbing first images have surfaced from inside the Arctic penal colony where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny spent his final hours in a brutal 'punishment cell', moments before his controversial death.
The photographs, obtained by DailyMail.com, reveal the stark and freezing concrete confinement where the prominent Kremlin critic was held in isolation at the IK-3 Polar Wolf colony above the Arctic Circle.
Harrowing Conditions in the Freezing Isolation Unit
The images show a bare, concrete-walled cell measuring approximately 8ft by 10ft, containing only a thin mattress on a concrete slab and a small stool. A single, barred window offers minimal light in the frigid conditions that plummet to -30°C in winter.
Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, has declared that new evidence proves her husband was "poisoned by Novichok nerve agent" in the days preceding his death, administered via a specially trained operative. She asserts this evidence will be presented to European foreign ministers imminently.
A Mother's Heartbreaking Final Visit
Lyudmila Navalnaya, the activist's 69-year-old mother, described visiting her son just days before his death, finding him "healthy, cheerful, and full of life" despite the punishing conditions. She revealed he had been due for release in a potential prisoner swap at the time of his death.
The opposition leader's family and team have accused Russian authorities of deliberately delaying the release of his body to conceal evidence of what they claim was a state-ordered assassination.
International Outcry and Demands for Justice
The emergence of these images has sparked renewed international condemnation, with Western leaders and human rights organisations demanding a full independent investigation into Navalny's death and the brutal prison conditions endured by Putin's political opponents.
As the world continues to seek answers, these haunting images stand as testament to the cruel treatment of a man who became the symbol of Russian opposition, even in his final moments in one of the world's most remote and brutal prison systems.
