Navalny's Body Delivered to Family... Mother Says "Government Demanded Secret Funeral"

Family Takes Custody 8 Days After Sudden Death in Prison
Mother "Authorities Threatened with Condition of Private Funeral"

The body of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny (47) has reportedly been handed over to his family. It has been eight days since his death in prison.

On the 24th (local time), US CNN and other media outlets cited Navalny's spokesperson Kira Yarmysh, reporting that officials in the northern Russian city of Salekhard handed over Navalny's body to his mother and others.

Spokesperson Yarmysh posted on social media (SNS) that day, "Aleksei's body has been delivered to his mother," adding, "Thank you to everyone who demanded the handover of the body together."

A citizen in Saint Petersburg, Russia, is paying tribute by offering flowers to Alexei Navalny, who died under suspicious circumstances in prison.
[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Navalny, through the Anti-Corruption Foundation he established in 2011, exposed corruption among high-ranking Russian officials and led anti-government movements, becoming President Vladimir Putin's greatest rival. The Anti-Corruption Foundation, the Foundation for the Protection of Citizens' Rights, and the Navalny Headquarters, organizations he founded, were designated as 'extremist organizations' by Russian authorities.

He was sentenced to over 30 years in prison on charges including illegal acquisition of funds, extremist activities, and fraud, and had been serving his sentence since January 2021. He suddenly died on the 16th at the No. 3 prison in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the northernmost Siberian region of Russia. However, Russian authorities did not immediately hand over Navalny's body to his family.

In response, Navalny's wife Yulia Navalnaya criticized on social media, saying, "President Putin is holding my husband's body hostage." She demanded, "Return my husband's body. I want to hold a funeral and bury the body in a humane way according to Orthodox Christian customs."

Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, searched for her son's body in the village of Salekhard near the No. 3 prison starting on the 17th but was only able to confirm the body on the 22nd. She claimed through spokesperson Yarmysh the day before that "investigators examining the cause of my son's death threatened to bury the body in the prison if we did not agree to a private funeral."

Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya. She criticized, saying, "President Putin is holding my husband's body hostage."
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Spokesperson Yarmysh explained, "Lyudmila is still in Salekhard, and the funeral has not been held," adding, "The authorities might obstruct the funeral in the way the family wants and in the manner Navalny deserves."

Meanwhile, the Russian Federal Prison Service stated on the 16th, at the time of Navalny's death, "He was feeling unwell after a walk and immediately lost consciousness," adding, "Medical staff performed emergency measures but confirmed his death, and the exact cause is being investigated according to procedures."

However, Navalny's associates raised suspicions about the sudden news of his death just a month before the presidential election (March 15?17), in which President Putin is expected to secure a fifth term, stating, "His recent health condition was good."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.