Russian authorities refuse to open criminal investigation into Navalny's death, his widow says

Russian authorities have refused to open a criminal investigation into the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny who died in an Arctic penal colony, his widow Yulia said Thursday.

Navalny, the fiercest political foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, died in February in the remote northern prison colony while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges that he had condemned as politically motivated. Authorities said he became ill after a walk but have otherwise given no details on Navalny’s death.

Russian officials only said that Navalny died of natural causes shortly after taking a walk and have vehemently denied involvement both in the poisoning and in his death.

In a video published Thursday on social media, Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's widow, said she received a letter from Russian investigators detailing the cause of her husband's death.