Alexey Navalny’s death wasn’t directly ordered by Putin, WSJ reports [Video]

Alexey Navalny’s February death in a remote Arctic prison camp likely wasn’t directly ordered by Vladimir Putin, despite Navalny’s outspoken criticism of the Russian president, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Despite the suspicious circumstances of the opposition leader’s death, the outlet reported Putin may not have intended Navalny to be killed when he was.

The Journal, citing “people familiar with the matter,” reported that several US intelligence agencies, including the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the State Department’s intelligence unit, share this opinion.

Representatives for the CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. However, a State Department spokesperson told BI that the United States’ official stance is that the Russian government “bears ultimate responsibility for Navalny’s death.”

“Over the years, the Russian government has poisoned him, unjustly arrested him, denied him medical care, and held him in harsh conditions simply for exercising …