Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny’s physique lastly handed over to his mom | EUROtoday

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The physique of Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny has lastly been handed over to his mom, his spokeswoman has stated.

Lyudmila Navalnaya, 69, has been given the physique of her son, Mr Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh stated on Saturday, greater than per week after he died in an Arctic jail on 16 February.

A lot of Western leaders have accused Vladimir Putin and Russian authorities of killing Mr Navalny, the Russian president’s most distinguished critic, though these accusations have been strongly denied by the Kremlin.

It comes after Ms Yarmysh stated Russian officers have been looking for to “blackmail” Ms Navalnaya, telling her they’d “do something” to her son’s physique if she didn’t conform to bury Mr Navalny in a secret ceremony with out mourners.

In a publish on X, previously Twitter, Ms Yarmysh stated on Saturday: “Alexey’s body was handed over to his mother. Many thanks to all those who demanded this with us.

“Lyudmila Ivanovna is still in Salekhard. The funeral is still pending. We do not know if the authorities will interfere to carry it out as the family wants and as Alexey deserves. We will inform you as soon as there is news.”

Mr Navalny’s spouse, Yulia, has stated she believes her husband was poisoned and that Russian authorities are conserving maintain of the physique to let traces of the nerve agent novichok go away Mr Navalny’s system. “My husband was unbreakable. And that’s precisely why Putin killed him,” she stated earlier this week.

Mr Navalny was moved to the distant “Polar Wolf” Arctic jail late final yr and confronted a number of sentences on fees the worldwide group and Mr Navalny’s supporters consider have been trumped as much as attempt to silence him. His dying got here a month earlier than a presidential election the place Mr Putin is anticipated to simply declare re-election, a vote that Mr Navalny repeatedly railed towards, even in jail.

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