Vladimir Putin ordered the killing of opponent Alexei Navalny and was mentally unstable when he did so, the Russian President’s former speechwriter tells Daily Express US.
Russian authorities announced Navalny had died in prison on Friday.
Navalny was seen across the globe as Putin’s biggest opposition in Russia, leading pro-democracy campaigns and highlighting corruption at the heart of the Kremlin.
Moscow has claimed Navalny dropped to the floor and felt unwell while on a walk before he quickly died, but leaders around the world have blamed Putin.
Speaking to Daily Express US, Putin’s former speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov says he believes Putin ordered Navalny to be killed.
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“After Prigozhin’s mutiny in 2023, Putin was hysterical.”
US President Joe Biden said on Friday he had “no doubt” that Putin was behind Navalny’s death.
Protests were held in Moscow and St Petersburg on Friday, but Russian police quickly cracked down on the dissent, arresting at least 100 people according to Russian human rights group OVD-info.
Navalny had been serving a 19-year prison sentence on extremism charges in a remote prison near the Russian city of Kharp.
He had been behind bars since he returned from Germany in January 2021, serving time on various charges that he has always denied.
In 2020, Navalny was poisoned with Novichok while on a flight.
