The body of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed over to his mother, his aides said on Saturday.
Ivan Zhdanov, chairman of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, made the announcement on his Telegram account, thanking “everyone” who called on the Russian authorities. Return Navalny's body To his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya.
“Thank you very much. Thank you to everyone who wrote and recorded video messages. You all did what you had to do. Thank you. The body of Alexei Navalny has been handed over to his mother,” Zhdanov wrote.
Navalny's mother and lawyer have been working to recover his body since late last week.
Earlier Saturday, Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya accused President Vladimir Putin of mocking Christianity in an attempt to force it on her mother. agree to a secret funeral After death in an arctic penal colony. Navalny's widow said his mother was being “literally tortured” by authorities. Threatens to bury Navalny In a prison in the North Pole.
“Please give us my husband's body,” Navalnaya said early Saturday. “You tortured him alive and are still torturing him dead. You are mocking the bodies of the dead.”
Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty
Navalny, 47, is Russia's most famous opposition politician. He died suddenly on February 16th. In an arctic penal colony, his family has been fighting for more than a week to take his life. the body returned to them.Western countries deal another blow to Russia as Russian celebrities release video asking authorities to release bodies sanctions as punishment To commemorate Navalny's death and the second anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.
Navalny's press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, said on social media that Lyudmila Navalnaya remained in Salekhard and was shown a medical certificate stating that her son died of “natural causes.”
“The funeral is still pending,” Yarmysh tweeted, questioning whether authorities would allow the funeral to take place “as the family wishes and as Alexei deserves.”
Navalny accused Putin, an Orthodox Christian, of killing Navalny.
“A true Christian would never do what President Putin is doing now with Alexei's body,” he said. “What are you going to do with his body? To mock the man you killed? How low are you willing to go?” he asked.
Saturday marked the ninth day since the opposition leader's death, and was the day Orthodox Christians held a memorial service.
People from all over Russia gathered to celebrate this occasion, Honoring Navalny's memory By gathering in Orthodox churches, placing flowers at public monuments, and protesting alone.
Muscovites lined up outside the city's Cathedral of Christ the Savior to pay their respects, according to photos and videos published by Russian independent news outlet SOTAvision. The video also shows Russian police stationed nearby and officers stopping several people for ID checks.
The authorities are many people detained They are trying to stifle an outpouring of sympathy for Putin's deadliest enemy ahead of a presidential election in which he is almost certain to win. Russians have claimed on social media that authorities do not want to return Navalny's body to his family for fear of public displays of support for him.
As of early Saturday afternoon, at least 27 people had been detained in nine Russian cities for showing support for Mr. Navalny, according to OVD-Info, a rights group that tracks political arrests.
Among them were Elena Osipova, a 78-year-old artist from St. Petersburg, who stood on the street holding a poster depicting Navalny with angel wings and flowers at a monument to victims of political repression in Moscow. and Sergei Karabatov, 64, who came with a bouquet of flowers. A note that says, “Don't think this is the end.”
Aida Nurieva, from the city of Ufa near the Ural Mountains, was also arrested and publicly held a placard that read: “Putin is responsible for Navalny's murder! We demand the return of his body!”
Putin is often photographed immersing himself in ice water in churches to celebrate Epiphany and visiting Russia's holy sites. He has promoted what he calls “traditional values,” without which “society would deteriorate,” he once said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied allegations that Putin was involved in Navalny's death, calling them “completely baseless and irreverent accusations about the Russian head of state.”
