Russia responsible for Navalny's death, UN rights expert says

FILE PHOTO: People lay flowers at the grave of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny following his funeral at the Borisovskoye cemetery in Moscow, Russia, March 1, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

GENEVA (Reuters) -The U.N. human rights expert on Russia said on Monday that the death of opposition politician Alexei Navalny was Moscow's responsibility as he was either killed in prison or died from detention conditions that amounted to torture.

Russian authorities say Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic, died on Feb. 16 in an Arctic prison of natural causes. Navalny's wife Yulia Navalnaya has accused Putin of having him killed, an accusation the Kremlin rejects.