Jailed Russian opposition figures point to Putin after Navalny's death

Jailed Russian opposition figures have been reacting to the death of Alexei Navalny from their prison cells this week.

Jailed Russian opposition figures have been reacting to the death of Alexei Navalny from their prison cells this week, with his former regional aide saying Wednesday that she was in "mourning".

Navalny died at his Arctic prison last Friday. His widow Yulia Navalnaya has since accused President Vladimir Putin of killing him, while his mother has been unable to see his body.

Most Russian opposition figures have fled the country in past years, but some have stayed and are serving long prison terms.

"Censorship is not allowing me to say everything that I think about the death of Alexei Navalny," Lilia Chanysheva, Navalny's representative in Bashkortostan who is serving seven years in prison, said in a message distributed by her associates.

"I send my condolences to his close ones and parents. I am mourning," she said.

A day earlier, Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is serving a 25-year sentence — the harshest of all jailed opposition figures — said he was sure Mr. Putin was behind Navalny's death.

Kara-Murza said he found out about the death when it was mentioned "in passing" during a radio report in his Siberian penal colony on Friday.