Press
After the death of Putin opponent Alexei Navalny, Russia is withholding his body. The family was now informed of new plans.
Moscow – Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny died on Friday in a remote Russian penal colony. The cause of death still remains a mystery. And Russia is still holding back the 47-year-old’s body. Navalny’s mother is also not allowed to see her son’s body yet. According to the latest information, this will remain the case for a while, which in turn is fueling serious accusations from Navalny’s side.
Alexei’s team Navalny has been fighting to see the Kremlin critic’s body since his death was reportedn. But the dead man’s mother was also denied this. At the weekend she traveled to the penal colony where her son was last imprisoned. There she was told that the body would be examined in the northern Siberian city of Salekhard. At the morgue there, she was told that the body was not there, the deceased’s team reported.
Mystery about Navalny’s body: Russia now apparently has a new plan
Now the Kremlin’s stalling tactics are apparently continuing.
On Monday, the Russian authorities and investigators “told Alexei’s lawyers and mother that they would not hand over the body,” said Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmysch via X (formerly Twitter). “We clearly understand that they will not show his body after this and that they will extend this ‘investigation’ until it suits them, at least until the presidential election,” she said further. The Russian authorities are now citing a “chemical examination” of the body to determine the cause of death as the reason for the 14-day deadline.
This fuels suspicions on the Navalny side that of Russia Authorities could try to cover up tracks. In a speech published on YouTube on Monday, Navalny’s widow expressed the suspicion that the body was being withheld so that residues of the Novichok poison could no longer be detected in the critic’s body.
“Sudden death syndrome”: Russia gives vague cause of Navalny’s death
According to Russian authorities, the 47-year-old Navalny collapsed in freezing temperatures on Friday while walking in the courtyard of his Siberian prison camp. According to the prison service, attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful. The Russian authorities had informed Navalny’s mother that the Kremlin critic had died of “sudden death syndrome.” According to the Moscow Times a very vague term with no precise medical meaning. Shortly after the death was reported, there were unconfirmed media reports that Navalny had died of a blood clot.
Human rights activists accuse the Russian power apparatus of murder. Navalny’s wife Yulia explicitly blamed Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin for the killing. The prominent anti-corruption campaigner’s employees also assumed that Navalny was deliberately killed. US President Joe Biden and other Western politicians also blamed the Kremlin for Navalny’s death. (rist/dpa).