Alexei Navalny died on February 16 in a Russian prison in the Arctic Circle.
Corpse of Russian opposition leader alexei navalny His spokesperson said he was returned to his mother.
In a post on X, Kira Yarmysh thanked everyone who requested the authorities to hand over the body.
“The funeral has not yet taken place,” she wrote.
Mr Navalny's mother Lyudmila was reportedly told to consent to a “secret” burial. If she refuses, he will be buried in the prison colony where he died.
She spent last week in a town near the prison where he died, first locating his body and then demanding its return.
After signing a death certificate stating that her son died of natural causes, she was given three hours to agree to a “secret” funeral for her son.
Yarmis said he was told that if his mother did not consent, she would be buried on the grounds of the prison where she died.
However, Lyudmila appears to have refused to negotiate with the authorities.
Yarmis said funeral plans are not yet clear.
“I don't know if the authorities will prevent this case from being carried out in the way that the family wants and that Alexei deserves,” she said.
Earlier Saturday, Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya accused President Vladimir Putin of holding her late husband's body “hostage” and demanded his unconditional release.
“Please return my husband's body to us,” she demanded in a video address.
“You tortured him alive and are still torturing him dead. You are mocking the bodies of the dead.”
Navalnaya once again accused the Russian president of involvement in her husband's death.
The Kremlin denied the allegations and called the Western reaction to the death “hysterical.”
Navalny died on February 16 in a Russian prison in the Arctic Circle.
Details about what happened to him are still lacking. His team offered guards 20,000 euros ($22,000, £17,000) in compensation and assistance leaving Russia in exchange for information about prison deaths.
For many years, he was the most high-profile critic of the Russian leader.
In August 2020, Navalny was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok by a team of would-be assassins from Russia's secret services.
He was airlifted to Germany, where he recovered, before returning to Russia in January 2021, where he was imprisoned.
Efforts to commemorate his death were met with a heavy-handed response from Russian authorities, with makeshift memorials removed and hundreds arrested.
