Alexei Navalny 'was due to be released before Putin changed mind and killed him'
Alexei Navalny was poised to be freed in a prisoner swap before Vladimir Putin had him killed instead, it is claimed.
The deal was brokered in part by ex-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich - but the Russian President blocked it at the last minute, and had the opposition leader killed, according to reports.
The sensational allegation comes from Maria Pevchikh, a senior aide to Navalny. She claimed that the West was ready to hand over FSB killer Vadim Krasikov, seen by Putin as a patriot, now in a Germany jail after he was convicted of an assassination.
But Putin - acting like a “mad mafioso” - decided he could not face having his arch-foe Navalny free, even if he was living in exile. In a dramatic new twist on the Navalny story, London-based Pevchikh said: "Navalny was supposed to be free in the coming days because we had achieved a decision on his exchange.
Alexei Navalny died in prison this month (AFP via Getty Images)"In early February, Putin was offered to swap the FSB killer, Vadim Krasikov, who is serving time for murder in Berlin, for two American citizens - and Alexei Navalny. I received confirmation that negotiations were at the final stage on the evening of February 15. On February 16, Alexei was killed."
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She revealed: “Roman Abramovich was the one who delivered the proposal to swap Navalny to Putin…as an informal negotiator communicating with American and European officials, and at the same time, representing Putin, an unofficial channel of communication with the Kremlin.”
Vladimir Putin allegedly blocked the release at the last minute (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)Pevchikh said: “Putin was clearly told that the only way to get Krasikov was to exchange him for Navalny. ‘Hold on’, thought Putin. ‘I can't tolerate Navalny being free. And since they are willing to exchange Krasikov in principle, I just need to get rid of the bargaining chip. Then offer someone else when the time comes’.”
She said: “It’s absolutely illogical, absolutely irrational, it's the behaviour of a mad mafioso. But the point is that Putin has gone mad with hatred for Navalny. Putin hated him so much.”
FSB assassin Vadim Krasikov (social media/ East2west news)Navalny was serving 19 years in hellhole Arctic jail Polar Wolf on trumped up charges intended to repress him. Instead of freeing him, he had him killed, she said. “He acts to his own detriment and against his own rational interests,” she said. “After all, Putin knows for sure that Alexei Navalny could have defeated him, that Alexei Navalny is the future, and he, Putin, is the past.”
Had Navalny been free, “he could have been sitting at my place right now”, she said. “This is not a figure of speech. It could and should have happened.” She said: “I did ask Roman Abramovich, through mutual acquaintances, how, when, and under what circumstances he did this, [and] what Putin said [regarding an agreement to swap Navalny]. Unfortunately, Abramovich did not answer these questions, but he did not deny anything either.”
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