The body of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed over to his mother, his aides said on Saturday.
Ivan Zhdanov, chairman of Navalny's anti-corruption foundation, made the announcement on his Telegram account, thanking “everyone” who called on Russian authorities to return Navalny's body to his mother.
Earlier on Saturday, Mr Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya accused President Vladimir Putin of trying to force his mother to agree to a secret funeral after his death in a penal colony and of mocking Christianity. .
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The widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has accused President Vladimir Putin of mocking Christianity by trying to force her to agree to a secret funeral after her mother's death in a penal colony.
Yulia Navalnaya said in a video released on Saturday that Navalny's mother, who wants her son's body returned, was subjected to “literal torture” by authorities who threatened to bury Navalny in an Arctic prison. He said that Navalnaya said they suggested to her mother that because her body was decomposing, she might not have much time to make a decision.
“Please give us my husband's body,” Navalnaya said. “You tortured him alive and continue to torture him now. You are mocking the bodies of the dead.”
Navalny, 47 years old, the most in Russia famous opposition politiciandied suddenly in a penal colony on February 16, and hundreds of Russians across the country laid flowers and candles at an impromptu memorial service.
authorities detained dozens of people They are trying to stifle an outpouring of sympathy for Putin's deadliest enemy ahead of the presidential election. almost certain to win. Russians have claimed on social media that authorities do not want to return Navalny's body to his family for fear of public displays of support for him.
Navalny accused Putin, an Orthodox Christian, of killing Navalny.
A memorial to Alexei Navalny is placed on a large rock on the Solovetsky Islands near the historic Federal Security Service (FSB, successor to the Soviet Union's KGB), where the first camp of the Gulag Political Prison System was established. Women handing out flowers. Buildings in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, February 24, 2024. Navalny, 47, Russia's best-known opposition politician, died suddenly in a penal colony on February 16, and hundreds of Russians across the country streamed an impromptu memorial service. With flowers and candles. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlyanichenko)
“A true Christian would never do what President Putin is currently doing to Alexei's body,” she said, asking, “What are you going to do with his body?” How far are you willing to go to mock the man you killed? ”
Saturday marked the ninth day since the opposition leader's death, and was the day Orthodox Christians held a memorial service.
People across Russia marked the occasion by gathering in Orthodox churches, laying flowers at public monuments and holding solo protests to honor Navalny's memory.
Muscovites lined up outside the city's Cathedral of Christ the Savior to pay their respects, according to photos and videos published by Russian independent news outlet SOTAvision. The video also shows Russian police stationed nearby and officers stopping several people for ID checks.
Yulia Navalnaya, wife of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, reacts as she speaks at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, February 16, 2024. As president, Navalny campaigned against official corruption and staged large-scale anti-Kremlin protests. Russia's prison service announced that President Vladimir Putin's fiercest enemy died on Friday in an Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence. He was 47 years old. (Pool photo via Kai Pfaffenbach/AP)
As of early Saturday afternoon, at least 27 people had been detained in nine Russian cities for showing support for Mr. Navalny, according to OVD-Info, a rights group that tracks political arrests.
Among them was Sergei Karabatov, 64, who laid flowers at a memorial to victims of political repression in Moscow and a handwritten note that read: “Don't think this is the end.” Also arrested was Aida Nurieva, from the city of Ufa near the Ural Mountains, who was standing on the street holding a placard that read: “Putin is Navalny's killer!” We demand the return of the body! ”
Putin is often photographed immersing himself in ice water in churches to celebrate Epiphany and visiting Russia's holy sites. He has promoted what he calls “traditional values,” without which “society would deteriorate,” he once said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied allegations that Putin was involved in Navalny's death, calling them “completely baseless and irreverent accusations about the Russian head of state.”
FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an Orthodox Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, April 24, 2022. The widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has accused President Vladimir Putin of mocking Christianity in an attempt to force his mother to do so. Agreeing to a secret burial after death in a penal colony. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlyanichenko, Pool, File)
Musician Nadia Tolokonnikova 2 years imprisonment He also released a video accusing President Putin of hypocrisy for participating in a protest with his band Pussy Riot inside the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow in 2012.
“We were imprisoned for allegedly trampling on traditional values. But I want to thank you, President Putin, and your officials and others who pray for all the murders you commit every day, every year. “No one tramples on traditional Russian values more than priests,” said Tolokonnikova, who lives abroad. “President Putin, have a conscience and give the body of your son to his mother.”
Tolokonnikova is one of several cultural icons who have released a video calling on Russian authorities to return Navalny's body to his family and hold a funeral. Navalny's mother and lawyer have been working to recover his body since late last week.
Lyudmila Navalnaya said Thursday that investigators had allowed her to view her son's body at a morgue in the Arctic city of Salekhard. She filed a lawsuit in Salekhard's court challenging the authorities' refusal to release the body. A closed-door hearing is scheduled for March 4.
Navalny's press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, said on X (formerly Twitter) that Lyudmila Navalnaya was shown a medical certificate stating that her son died of “natural causes.”
