Watch: Alexei Navalny memorial held after death of Putin critic

Watch as a memorial event for Alexei Navalny was held in Vilnius, Lithuania, after the Russian opposition leader's death was reported on Friday, 16 February.

Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic, 47, was reported to have died in jail by the Siberian prison service, where the anti-corruption activist had been serving his almost two-decade sentence.

Navalny was imprisoned in 2021 when he returned to Russia having been treated in Germany for poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.

He had recently been moved to a "special regime" penal colony near the Arctic Circle where he was jailed on extremism charges that supporters and much of the international community believe were trumped up to silence him.

Navalny's death was reported by the prison service on Friday.

His team said his lawyer was flying there but did not immediately confirm his death.

In a statement, the federal prison service said that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness.

An ambulance arrived to try to rehabilitate him, but he died, they added.

Alexei Navalny's wife initially said she didn't know if she should believe the news.

Fighting back tears as she spoke for the first time following the prison service's announcement, Yulia Navalnaya told the Munich Security Conference: "I want Putin and everyone around him to know that they will be held accountable for everything they did to our country, to my family.”