The Tragic Death of Alexey Navalny: Mother Claims Pressure to Hold Secret Funeral
In a shocking turn of events, the mother of Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny has come forward with claims that she is being pressured to hold a secret funeral for her son. Lyudmila Navalnaya revealed that she had seen her son’s body in a morgue in Salekhard, a Siberian town near the prison where Navalny had been held since December. She had been denied access to his body for several days after his death.
Navalnaya also stated that she saw a medical report stating that her son’s cause of death was natural, but she firmly believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible for her husband’s demise. She urged the media not to be swayed by the Russian government’s narratives. In a video posted on her son’s YouTube channel, Navalnaya expressed her frustration with the authorities, saying, “According to the law, they should have given me Alexey’s body right away, but they haven’t done it yet. Instead, they blackmail me and set conditions for where, when, and how Alexey should be buried.”
The grieving mother claimed that an investigator named Voropayev had told her that time was working against her and that her son’s body was decomposing. She did not provide the full name of the official. Navalnaya also alleged that the Russian Investigative Committee wanted to bury her son’s body secretly without allowing her to say goodbye. She stated that the investigators claimed to know the cause of death and had all the necessary medical legal documents. She even signed his medical death certificate.
Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, revealed that the Investigative Committee had set numerous conditions for Navalnaya before releasing the body. These conditions included keeping the funeral private and not announcing it to prevent crowds from gathering. The body would also have to be transported to Moscow on a special plane, and the family would be accompanied by a committee employee at all times. Additionally, the body would have to be kept in either the Moscow or Vladimir region before burial due to fears of a potential morgue storming.
Navalnaya initially faced difficulties in choosing a cemetery for her son but eventually agreed to hold the funeral at Khovanskoye cemetery in Moscow. However, they have yet to agree on the farewell hall. Zhdanov emphasized that Navalnaya had been pressured into accepting these conditions.
The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, claimed to be unaware of Navalnaya’s comments regarding her son’s body and the issues she faced with investigators. He stated that he could not comment on the matter as he had not seen her words. Peskov added that the Kremlin was dealing with other important issues for the country.
Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, accused Russian authorities of hiding her husband’s body to conceal the cause of death. She criticized their actions as pathetic lies and suggested that they were waiting for traces of another Novichok, a deadly nerve agent, to disappear. The Kremlin has stated that an investigation into Navalny’s death is underway, and the results are currently unknown.
Navalnaya’s claims come nearly a week after her son’s death was announced on February 16. The news sparked strong reactions from Western leaders, with US President Joe Biden blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s demise. He described it as further proof of Putin’s brutality.
In response, Russia accused the US of hysteria regarding Navalny’s death. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the US was acting as the prosecutor, judge, and punisher all in one and had no right to interfere in Russia’s internal affairs.
President Biden met with Navalny’s wife and daughter in California, expressing his condolences and admiration for Navalny’s courage and fight against corruption.
Alexey Navalny was Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, known for his criticism of Putin’s regime. He returned to Russia in 2021 after being treated in Germany for poisoning with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent. Upon his return, he was swiftly arrested on politically motivated charges and spent the rest of his life in prison.
The Russian prison service reported that Navalny felt unwell after a walk in his Siberian penal colony and lost consciousness shortly after. He had been serving a 19-year prison sentence for various crimes, including creating an extremist community and financing extremist activists. Prior to this, he was already serving an 11-and-a-half-year sentence on fraud charges.
Navalny’s final weeks were spent in the IK-3 penal colony, where he described the freezing conditions to a Moscow court. He even resorted to sleeping under a newspaper for warmth.
The circumstances surrounding Navalny’s death continue to unfold, and updates will be provided as more information becomes available.