Alexei Navalni’s body is delivered to his mother without Russia having revealed why he died

The Russian authorities agreed this Saturday, February 24, 2024, to hand over to his mother the body of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison under unclarified circumstances nine days ago, the politician’s team reported.

“Alexei’s body has been delivered to his mother. Thank you to everyone who demanded it along with us,” Kira Yarmish, spokesperson for the deceased opponent, wrote on the social network X.
Yarmish added that Navalni’s mother, Liudmila, is still in the Arctic city of Salekhard, close to the prison where her son died on the 16th.

“We have the funerals ahead, but we don’t know if the authorities are going to prevent them from being held as the family wishes and as Alexei deserves.“he added and promised to keep the politician’s followers up to date with the news “as it arises.”

The Russian Instruction Committee (CIR) presented an ultimatum to the mother of the Russian opposition leader to accept a secret burial in order to avoid demonstrations public protests against the Kremlin, as reported by Navalni’s co-religionists.

Liudmila Naválnaya refused to negotiate with the CIR, arguing that its investigators “do not have the power to decide how and where to bury her son.”

Navalni’s widow, Yulia, who directly accuses the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, of being behind her husband’s death, denounced in a video that the country’s authorities had not delivered the opponent’s body for nine days.

“Return my husband’s body. We want to celebrate his funeral and deliver him to the earth, as God commands, as the Orthodox do. Give us Alexei without conditions,” Navalnaya demanded.

On Friday, February 23, Navalny’s team filed a lawsuit in court under article 244 of the Russian criminal code on “desecration of the body of the deceased.”

A few days ago the politician’s mother also sent a letter to President Putin to have the body of the Russian opponent handed over to her, which He died suddenly on February 16 due to “natural causes”, according to the official version, which his coreligionists reject..

Numerous Russian artists, intellectuals and journalists in exile had joined the campaign launched by Navalny’s allies on their Telegram channel for the return of the body.