Russian Authorities Pressure Mother of Alexey Navalny for Secret Funeral
In a shocking turn of events, Russian authorities have reportedly pressured the mother of late opposition figure Alexey Navalny to agree to a secret funeral without a public farewell. Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, revealed that an investigator had given Navalny’s mother an ultimatum, stating that unless she agreed within three hours, her son would be buried at the Arctic penal colony where he died.
Navalny’s wife and team are currently exiled from Russia, leaving his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, on a solitary mission to retrieve her son’s body and give him a proper funeral. However, she has faced significant resistance from Russian authorities since his death was announced a week ago. Navalny’s team has accused the Kremlin of attempting to prevent a funeral because they fear large crowds would attend.
Navalnaya has previously stated that investigators threatened to let her son’s body decompose unless she agreed to their demand for a secret burial. In a video posted on her son’s YouTube account, she expressed her distress, saying, “They started threatening me. Looking into my eyes they say that if I don’t agree to a secret funeral they will do something with my son’s body.”
Navalnaya claims that officials in Salekhard, the Siberian town where Navalny’s body is being held in a morgue, showed her the body on Wednesday. She signed his medical death certificate, which stated that he died of natural causes. However, she had previously been kept in the dark about the location of her son’s body.
Despite the pressure from investigators, Navalnaya has refused to negotiate and demanded that her son’s body be returned to her in compliance with the law. According to the law, investigators are obligated to hand over the body within two days of establishing the cause of death.
The news of the ultimatum given to Navalnaya has sparked outrage from Navalny’s team. Maria Pevchikh, the head of investigations at Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, described the situation as “hell on earth right before our eyes.” She accused Russian authorities of resorting to new ideas for blackmail every day.
In response to the alleged murder of Navalny, the foundation has offered a reward of 20,000 euros for valuable and complete information about the circumstances surrounding his death. Ivan Zhdanov, the director of the foundation, called on members of the Russian military and law enforcement to anonymously come forward with information. The foundation also pledged to assist those who provide information in leaving the country if they wish.
Navalny’s team has accused Russian authorities of trying to prevent a funeral to avoid public displays of support. Pevchikh stated that many people would want to say their final goodbyes to Navalny and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to prevent the funeral because he sees it as a political turbulence that he does not want to be televised.
Alexey Navalny, Putin’s most prominent political opponent, tragically passed away at the age of 47 in a prison above the Arctic circle. The Russian prison service claimed that he felt unwell after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness. Navalny had been sentenced to 19 years in prison in August on charges of creating an extremist community and other crimes, which he dismissed as politically motivated.
Navalny’s death comes just weeks before Russia’s presidential election, scheduled for March 17. Putin is expected to secure a fifth term in office, extending his rule until at least 2030. In response to Navalny’s death and Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden announced a fresh slate of sanctions on over 500 targets. These sanctions will target individuals connected to Navalny’s imprisonment, as well as Russia’s financial sector, defense industrial base, procurement networks, and sanctions evaders across multiple continents. Biden emphasized that these sanctions aim to ensure Putin pays a steeper price for his aggression abroad and repression at home.
The situation surrounding Navalny’s funeral continues to unfold, with his mother standing firm against the pressure from Russian authorities. As the world watches, the fight for justice and the right to bid farewell to a beloved figure intensifies.