CHILLING

Putin: I Can’t Guarantee Navalny Will Leave Prison Alive

“Look, such decisions in this country are not made by the president.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, displaying his usual concern for human life, told NBC News that he cannot guarantee opposition leader Alexei Navalny will get out of prison alive. “Look, such decisions in this country are not made by the president,” Putin said in the sitdown ahead of his summit with President Joe Biden this week. “He will not be treated any worse than anybody else.” Navalny had to go on a near-fatal hunger strike to get Russian officials to move him to a prison hospital in April. His health has been failing since he was poisoned in August with weapons-grade Novichok—an attack that Putin has denied ordering. He was tossed in jail in February, and a Moscow court has just outlawed the opposition groups tied to him.