The Russian opponent’s relatives demand that his body “be immediately returned to his family”.
Russian officials told relatives of Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny on Saturday that the cause of his death had not yet been established and that the results of a new investigation would be published next week, according to the spokesperson for Alexei Navalny, Kira Yarmysh.
The latter specified that the opponent’s mother had been informed that the body would not be made public until these investigations were completed.
The move sparked speculation that Russian authorities may want to keep the body in an attempt to cover up possible foul play. “They are leading us in circles and covering their tracks”says Kira Yarmysh.
A note given to Alexei Navalny’s mother indicates that he died on Friday at 2:17 p.m. Prison officials told his mother when she arrived at the penal colony on Saturday that her son had died from “sudden death syndrome”wrote Ivan Zhdanov, director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, on X, formerly known as Twitter.
A prison colony employee reportedly said the body was taken to the nearby town of Salekhard as part of a post-mortem investigation. When Alexei Navalny’s mother and one of the opponent’s lawyers visited the Salekhard morgue, it was closed, Navalny’s team wrote on his Telegram channel. But the lawyer called the morgue and was told the body wasn’t there.
Another Navalny lawyer went to Salekhard’s investigative committee and was told that the cause of his death had not yet been established and that further investigations were underway and the results would be published next week. The Russian Investigative Committee informed Navalny’s team that the body would not be released to his relatives until these investigations were completed, according to Kira Yarmysh.
“It is obvious that they are lying and doing everything they can to avoid handing over the body”she wrote on X, adding that her team demanded that Navalny’s body “be immediately returned to his family.”
Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service reported that Navalny felt ill after a walk on Friday and fell unconscious in the penal colony in the town of Kharp in the Yamalo-Nenets region, about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) away. northeast of Moscow. An ambulance arrived, but he could not be resuscitated, the service said, adding that the cause of death was still “under establishment”.
Tributes and arrests
Meanwhile, arrests continued on Saturday as Russians came to lay flowers in memory of Alexei Navalny at memorials to victims of Soviet-era purges. OVD-Info, a group that monitors political repression in Russia, said Saturday that more than 273 people had been arrested at commemorative events since the opponent’s death.
Memorial items left Friday were removed overnight, but people continued to flock with flowers Saturday. In Moscow, a large group of people chanted “shame” as police pulled a screaming woman from the crowd, a video shared on social media showed.
More than 10 people were arrested in front of a memorial in Saint Petersburg, including a priest who came to celebrate a service there for Alexeï Navalny.
In other cities across the country, police cordoned off some memorials and officers took photos of those who came and took down their personal details in a clear attempt at intimidation.
“After the murder of Alexei Navalny, it is absurd to perceive Vladimir Putin as the supposedly legitimate head of the Russian state”Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference. “He is a thug who maintains power through corruption and violence.”
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on Saturday that the United Kingdom “would take action” against the Russians responsible for the death of Alexeï Navalny.