The Brief

  • Dozens rallied in downtown Chicago, claiming Russian dissident Aleksei Navalny was poisoned, despite Russia’s assertion he died of natural causes.

  • Protesters condemned Vladimir Putin, called for an end to the war in Ukraine, and said they fled Russia to avoid prison for opposing the regime.

  • Navalny’s widow said new evidence confirms he was poisoned and thanked European officials for their investigation.

CHICAGO – Dozens of Russian nationals rallied in downtown Chicago one day after reports surfaced that Russian dissident Aleksei Navalny, who according to the Russian government, died from natural causes in an arctic prison, was in fact, poisoned by a foreign toxin.

What we know

Speaking out against Vladimir Putin for crimes against Ukraine and for “the murder of Aleksei Navalny”, protesters stood in solidarity demanding an end to the war on the two-year anniversary of Navalny’s death.

These Russian nationals fled their native lands over fears that their opposition to the war could land them in prison for “five to ten years.”

What they’re saying

Danil Schulgstrov, who now calls Peoria, Ill. home, spoke of what they are fighting for.

“Most of us, we faced five — ten years charges because we are against the war, against Putin. We were for human rights, we were for democracy. We have no democracy, we have only the regime which is killing people—even right now, as you are seeing me, Putin’s regime is killing someone.”

Yavalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, released a statement following the release of the cause of her husband’s death, saying, “I was certain from the first day that my husband had been poisoned, but now there is proof. I am grateful to the European states for the meticulous work they carried out over two years and for uncovering the truth.”

The Source

This story contains reporting from Fox Chicago’s Scott Schneider.