Alexei Navalny was a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin. (File)
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's body was reportedly found in a morgue days after it was said to be missing from there. The body had "signs of bruises", an anonymous paramedic told an independent news outlet.
The paramedic said the bodies of those who die in prison are usually taken straight to the Foreign Medicine Bureau, "but his body was taken to a clinical hospital for some reason." The "bruises" on his body resembled marks that one suffers when being held down during a seizure, he added.
Navalny, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, died at the remote Arctic prison colony while serving a 19-year jail term. He had gone for a walk and could not be revived after he lost consciousness, the prison service said.
Prison officials told his mother Lyudmila he died of "sudden death syndrome". Lyudmila and Navalny's lawyer arrived in the prison region on Saturday, but were refused access to his body. They were told his body couldn't be handed over until an investigation was done.
His supporters have accused Russian authorities of killing him and claimed they are refusing to hand over the body to "cover their tracks".
Navalny's wife Yulia Navalnaya had earlier said she was sceptical of the news of her husband's death since it came from Russian government sources.
His death also prompted Western outrage and condemnation, with US President Joe Biden holding Putin "responsible for Navalny's death".