The mother of Alexei Navalny has issued her first comments since his death in an Arctic prison, urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to "immediately" release her son's body.
Russian authorities announced the death of Alexei Navalny, the main political opponent of Vladimir Putin, in his penal colony on Friday. Navalny's team insists the 47-year-old was murdered. His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, who has pledged to continue his work, echoed Navalny's mother's call for the immediate release of his body. Lyudmila Navalnaya traveled to the penal colony on Saturday but has been prevented from seeing her son's body. In a video statement, she appealed directly to Putin, demanding the release of Alexei's body for a humane burial.
Navalny's allies claim that Lyudmila Navalnaya has been denied access to morgues and was informed by investigators that the body could be retained for "at least two weeks." A letter from Lyudmila Navalnaya to Putin, demanding the release of her son's body, was also published by Navalny's team.
The Kremlin has not specified when the body will be handed over, and Putin has remained silent on Navalny's death. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, dismissed Yulia Navalnaya's accusation that Putin was responsible for her husband's death as "unfounded and vulgar." Yulia responded on social media, insisting on the return of Alexei's body for a dignified burial.
Yulia Navalnaya's social media account on X was suspended for 50 minutes after her remarks against the Kremlin. The company reinstated it without explanation. In a video posted earlier, she accused Putin of killing Navalny and vowed to continue his fight against the Kremlin. On Tuesday, Yulia met with European Union foreign ministers and urged the EU not to recognize Russia's upcoming presidential election, expressing doubt about its legitimacy due to Putin's alleged involvement in Navalny's death.
The West has accused the Kremlin of orchestrating Navalny's death, occurring three years into his imprisonment. Ilya Yashin, a friend of Navalny serving a prison sentence, stated he had "no doubt" that Navalny was killed and believed Putin ordered the killing as "demonstrative revenge." Yashin, a key figure in the Russian
AFP