Alexei Navalny’s mother acknowledged that she has been shown his son’s body, while expressing apprehension about Russian authorities’ efforts to coerce her into agreeing to a clandestine burial.
Lyudmila Navalnaya, in her video message, detailed the distressing event of being taken to a morgue, where she was required to certify her husband’s death on an official document.
The press secretary for the former opposition leader stated that a medical report given to Ms. Navalnaya indicated his death resulted from natural causes, though Navalny’s widow contends he was deliberately targeted and killed by Russian authorities.
Lyudmila Navalnaya claimed that despite legal obligations, officials were withholding her son’s body, a situation she characterized as “blackmail.” She accused authorities of attempting to dictate terms for her son’s burial, including specifying the venue, timing, and procedures involved.
She said: “They want to take me to the outskirts of the cemetery to a fresh grave and say: ‘Here lies your son.'”
Following the news of her son’s death in a nearby penal colony six days earlier, Ms. Navalnaya made her way to the northern Russian town of Salekhard.
After being denied access to her son’s body earlier, she took matters into her own hands on Tuesday, making a direct plea to Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him to grant her the opportunity to bury her son.
Read also: Biden Meets With Navalny’s Widow, Daughter – White House
During her address on Thursday, Lyudmila Navalnaya spoke about the intimidation she was experiencing from the authorities.
“Looking into my eyes, they say that if I do not agree to a secret funeral, they will do something with my son’s body.”
She said she was told by investigators: “Time is not on your side, the corpse is decomposing.”
Addressing viewers in a video shared on her late son’s YouTube channel, Lyudmila Navalnaya concluded her remarks by demanding the return of his body. However, Russian authorities remained silent with no immediate response.
On Thursday, in an independent gathering, US President Joe Biden met with Mr. Navalny’s widow, Yulia, and his daughter, Dasha Navalnaya, in San Francisco.
The White House stated that the president had expressed his admiration for Alexei Navalny’s extraordinary courage and his legacy of fighting against corruption and for a free and democratic Russia. Additionally, they mentioned that the US was preparing to issue new sanctions on Russia.