The family of Alexei Navalny, the prominent Putin critic who recently died in a Russian prison, has been informed that his body will not be released for two weeks. According to a representative for Navalny, his mother was told that the body is being held for “chemical analysis.” However, Russian authorities have not confirmed the whereabouts of the body, and efforts to locate it have been repeatedly shut down. This has led Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, to accuse the authorities of hiding the body.
In a video released on Monday, Yulia Navalnaya directly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of killing her husband. She also alleged that the body is being kept until traces of the nerve agent Novichok, which was used in an attempt to kill Navalny in 2020, have disappeared. In the emotional video, Yulia called on viewers to stand alongside her and “share the fury and hate for those who dared to kill our future.”
Navalny’s death in prison was announced on Friday. The authorities at the Siberian penal colony where he was held stated that he had never regained consciousness after collapsing following a walk. As soon as news of his death broke, Navalny’s mother and lawyer traveled to the remote colony to investigate further. However, their attempts to locate the body have been repeatedly thwarted by the prison mortuary and local authorities.
The Kremlin has stated that an investigation into Navalny’s death is ongoing and that there are currently no results. Later, Navalny’s spokeswoman revealed that investigators had informed Navalny’s mother that they would not release the body for two weeks while they conduct a “chemical analysis.”
In her video message, Yulia Navalnaya expressed her belief that Navalny had been poisoned. She accused the authorities of hiding his body and lying about it, suggesting that they are waiting for traces of Putin’s latest Novichok to disappear. Navalny, who was the most significant leader of the Russian opposition for the past decade, was serving a 19-year sentence on charges that many viewed as politically motivated.
Western leaders have placed the blame for Navalny’s death squarely on President Putin. US President Joe Biden stated, “The fact of the matter is: Putin is responsible, whether he ordered it or he is responsible for the circumstances he put that man in.” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also accused Putin’s regime of “slowly murdering” Navalny in a Russian jail. Both the EU and the US are considering new sanctions on Russia following Navalny’s death. The UK Foreign Secretary, Lord Cameron, expects Britain and the rest of the G7 group of rich nations to impose fresh sanctions on any Russians involved in the death.
In response to these accusations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the comments by Western politicians “arrogant” and “unacceptable.” Russian prison authorities have claimed that Navalny suffered from “sudden death syndrome.”
The death of Alexei Navalny has sparked international outrage and renewed calls for justice. As investigations continue and tensions rise between Russia and the West, the world watches closely to see how this tragic event will unfold.