The mother of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who died in custody, has received his body from the authorities. This was announced by the director of Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation, Ivan Zhdanov. Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Jarmysch also confirmed this on X. She thanked “everyone who called for this with us.” She wrote that she doesn’t yet know whether “the authorities will prevent the funeral ceremony from taking place as the family wants and as Alexei deserves.”
Navalny’s relatives and supporters had been calling on the Russian leadership for days to hand over the dead man so that he could be given a humane burial.
The politician’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of taking her husband’s body “hostage.” Putin wanted to force Navalny’s mother Lyudmila “to agree to a secret funeral,” she said. Putin gave the orders that said: “Don’t hand him over, put pressure on the mother, break her, tell her that her son’s body has decomposed.”
Lyudmila Navalnaya had tried for days to gain access to her son’s body. According to Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh, Russian investigators threatened to bury Navalny’s body on the grounds of the penal colony where he died if his family did not agree to a secret burial.
“They tortured him alive and continue to torture him dead”
Putin, who describes himself as a devout Christian, mocks the remains of the dead man and practices “open satanism” on a day, the widow said in a video message. “Hand over Alexei. They tortured him alive and continue to torture him dead,” she said. “They break every human and divine law.”
According to observers, the Russian government fears that a funeral could become a public event. Presidential elections are scheduled for mid-March in Russia. Putin’s renewed election victory is already almost certain, as he has no serious competition.
The death of Navalny, who had been imprisoned in Russia for years, became known on Friday last week. He died suddenly in a penal camp in the Arctic Circle at the age of 47. The circumstances of his death are not clear. According to Russian authorities, the politician, who was weakened by the poison attack and repeated solitary confinement in the camp, collapsed during a tour of the prison yard and died despite attempts to resuscitate him. According to Navalny’s team, the death certificate mentions “natural” causes.
Navalny’s death caused international consternation. Numerous Western politicians as well as Navalny’s widow blamed the Russian leadership and President Putin for his death. Russia rejected the allegations. Russia rejects calls from the West for an independent investigation into the death as interference in internal affairs.
The mother of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who died in custody, has received his body from the authorities. This was announced by the director of Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation, Ivan Zhdanov. Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Jarmysch also confirmed this on X. She thanked “everyone who called for this with us.” She wrote that she doesn’t yet know whether “the authorities will prevent the funeral ceremony from taking place as the family wants and as Alexei deserves.”
Navalny’s relatives and supporters had been calling on the Russian leadership for days to hand over the dead man so that he could be given a humane burial.