The widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny accused the Kremlin on Monday of hiding his body to cover up his murder in an Arctic penal colony.
Yulia Navalnaya, who has vowed to continue the fight against her late husband, President Vladimir Putin, called on Russians to rally around her in a long video address.
Her comments came after Mr. Navalny's team announced that his mother and lawyer had been denied access to his body and that the investigation into what killed him had been extended.
“Three days ago, President Vladimir Putin killed my husband,” Navalnaya, 47, said in a nine-minute video posted on YouTube ahead of talks with European Union foreign ministers in Brussels. She said authorities were waiting for traces of “yet another Putin Novichok.” Leaving his body refers to the military nerve agent used to poison him years ago.
The Kremlin denies involvement in the poisoning and dismissed suggestions that Putin was behind his death on Friday.
Yulia vowed to continue her husband's efforts to secure a free Russia. “We know exactly why Putin killed Alexei three days ago. We will publish names and faces,” she said in the video.
“The most important thing we can do for Alexei and ourselves is to keep fighting,” she added.
“I will continue the life's work of Alexei Navalny,” Navalny said. “I ask you to stand with me.”
Russian prison authorities said Navalny suddenly died Friday afternoon after collapsing after a walk inside the remote “Arctic Wolves” prison.
The news sparked outrage, with many international leaders condemning Putin, while Russia's scattered opposition was reeling from the loss of one of the Kremlin's most powerful enemies. The Russian government scoffed at the Western reaction and called on the world to await the results of an official investigation into his death.
But Navalny's supporters rejected the official version of events.
And on Monday morning, spokeswoman Kayla Yarmysh said Navalny's mother and lawyers were denied access to a nearby morgue. She said the group had been informed that the investigation into his death had been extended, but it was unclear how long it would take.
“They weren't allowed in. One of the lawyers was literally kicked out. Staff members were asked if Alexei's body was there, but they didn't answer,” Yarmash said in a series on the X show. I mentioned it in my post. Yarmis said prison officials in the Arctic town of Salekhard announced the body had been taken over the weekend.
The country's main investigative body, the Commission of Inquiry, told the organization, “The cause of death is still 'unknown.'” “They lie, they buy time for themselves and they don't even hide it,” she added.
