Alexey Navalny’s physique was returned to his mom days after relations mentioned they have been denied entry to his physique and have been pressured by Russian authorities to carry a funeral in secret.
“Alexey’s physique was handed over to his mom. Many because of all those that demanded this with us,” Kira Yarmysh, Navalny’s spokesperson, wrote on X, every week after the political dissident died all of a sudden in an Artic penal colony on the age of 47.
“The funeral remains to be pending. We have no idea if the authorities will intrude to hold it out because the household needs and as Alexey deserves. We are going to inform you as quickly as there may be information,” she wrote.
Questions stay across the nature of Navalny’s loss of life and whether or not a public procession may be held for considered one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critics.
Navalny’s spokesperson, Yarmysh, mentioned on X that the household was proven a medical report stating that Navalny died of pure causes.
His mom, Lyudmila Navalnaya, mentioned in a YouTube video posted earlier this week that she was initially denied entry to see her son’s physique and accused Russian authorities of blackmailing her until she agreed to circumstances outlining when and tips on how to bury her son.
Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, additionally accused Putin of “torturing” his corpse, difficult the Russian chief’s proclaimed Christian religion in a six-minute video posted on her late husband’s YouTube channel.
“We already knew Putin’s religion was faux,” she says within the video, “However now we see it extra clearly than ever earlier than.”
A public funeral for a fierce Kremlin opponent could possibly be disruptive and unfavorable for Putin.
After Navalny’s loss of life was introduced, members of the general public laid floral tributes in cities throughout Russia. However movies on Russian social media confirmed teams of unidentified folks eradicating the tributes in a single day as authorities watched, CBS Information reported.
Russian watchdog group OVD-Information mentioned on February 17 that greater than 400 folks have been detained after leaving tributes to Navalny.
Yarmysh mentioned on Friday that Navalny’s mom was given an ultimatum to carry a secret funeral or he could be buried at the prison colony.
The spokesperson’s newest replace on the return of Navalny’s physique didn’t specify if the household agreed to any circumstances.
“We simply desire a funeral service and to bury him in a human manner, within the floor, as is customary in Orthodoxy,” Navalny’s spouse mentioned.