Death of the Kremlin critic
Navalny’s mother was allowed to see her son’s body for the first time
Lyudmila Navalnaya, the mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, called for the body to be returned in a video message
© Uncredited / Navalny Team / AP / DPA
Since the news of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s death, the family has been waiting for his body. Navalny’s mother was now allowed to see him. But she is not allowed to bury her son for the time being.
The mother of the Putin critic who died in a Russian prison camp Alexei Navalny has been given access to his body after days of waiting. Lyudmila Navalnaya said in a video on Thursday that she saw her son’s body in the morgue but was not handed over to it. The 47-year-old died in the prison camp on Friday last week. “The medical report on the death presented to Alexei Navalny’s mother says that the cause of death was natural,” said the spokeswoman for his organization, Kira Jamysh, on the online service Twitter.
Since the death was reported, the mother had been looking for the body in the Arctic Circle region. In the video, she again demanded that the body be handed over to her so that she could bury it. She also accused Russian authorities of “blackmailing” her to force a “secret” burial of her son.
Authorities apparently want to force a secret funeral for Alexei Navalny
“Last night they secretly took me to the morgue, where they showed me Alexei,” Navalnaya said in the video. The Russian authorities therefore pressured her to agree to a secret burial of her son. “They are blackmailing me, they are giving me conditions as to where, when and how Alexei should be buried,” said the mother. “This is illegal.”
Navalnaya said, referring to the authorities: “They want everything to happen in secret, without ceremony, they want to take me to the edge of a cemetery, near a fresh grave and tell me: ‘Your son rests here.’ I I don’t agree with that.”
The death of Navalny, who had been imprisoned in Russia for years, became known on Friday last week. He died in a penal camp in the Arctic Circle at the age of 47. Navalny’s sudden death caused international consternation. Numerous Western politicians as well as Navalny’s widow blamed the Russian leadership and President Vladimir Putin for his death. Moscow rejected the allegations.
Note: This article has been updated with additional information.