The spokeswoman for Alexei Navalny confirmed that his mother has received his body, bringing closure to the process following the death of the prominent Russian opposition figure.
Kira Yarmysh, in a recent post on X, thanked individuals for their efforts in pressuring the authorities to release his remains.
“The funeral is yet to take place,” she wrote.
According to reports, Lyudmila Navalnaya, the mother of Alexei Navalny, was allegedly pressured to consent to a clandestine burial. Alternatively, refusal would result in his interment at the prison colony where he passed away.
Over the past week, she has stayed in the vicinity of the prison where her son died, diligently seeking to ascertain the whereabouts of his remains and fervently insisting on their return to her possession.
Having officially declared her son’s cause of death as natural, she was immediately confronted with a tight deadline of three hours to acquiesce to arrangements for a confidential funeral ceremony.
Ms. Yarmysh recounted that authorities had informed Lyudmila that refusal to cooperate would result in her son’s burial on the prison grounds where he passed away, a prospect she purportedly rejected.
Ms Yarmysh said the funeral plans were still not clear.
“We don’t know whether the authorities will interfere with it being carried out in the way the family wants and as Alexei deserves,” she said.
Earlier on Saturday, Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, accused Vladimir Putin of holding her late husband’s body “hostage” and demanded its release without conditions.
“Give us the body of my husband,” she demanded in a video address.
“You tortured him alive, and now you keep torturing him dead. You mock the remains of the dead.”
Read also: Navalny’s Mother Says She’s Been Shown Son’s Body
Ms Navalnaya again accused the Russian president of being behind the death of her husband.
The Kremlin has denied the allegations, calling Western reaction to the death “hysterical”.
Tragically, Alexei Navalny’s life came to an end on February 16th within the confines of a Russian prison, situated amidst the unforgiving terrain of the Arctic Circle.
Information surrounding his demise remains scant, with his associates resorting to a €20,000 ($22,000; £17,000) incentive for security personnel, coupled with assistance to depart Russia, in return for insights into his prison demise.
As the most prominent critic of the Russian leader for years, Navalny found himself targeted in August 2020 by a group believed to be operatives of the Russian secret services, who administered the deadly Novichok nerve agent in a poisoning attempt.
Transported to Germany via airlift, he underwent a process of recovery before making the bold decision to return to Russia in January 2021, where he was swiftly imprisoned upon his return.
Russian authorities have cracked down harshly on attempts to honor his memory, resorting to the clearance of makeshift monuments and the arrest of hundreds in a heavy-handed response.