Navalny’s Mother Speaks: Says She Has Seen Her Son’s Body
Lyudmila Navalnaya, the mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has revealed in a video address that she has been allowed to view her son’s body, but contends that Russian authorities are exerting pressure on her to consent to a “secret” burial. According to her account, she was brought to a morgue where she was asked to sign a death certificate. Navalnaya claims that she is being blackmailed, as officials are allegedly refusing to release her son’s body unless she agrees to certain conditions for the burial, dictating the location, time, and manner. In a distressing assertion, she suggests that authorities want to take her to an outlying part of the cemetery and proclaim, “Here lies your son.”
During her address, Navalnaya discloses that she is being threatened by the authorities. She shares that investigators told her, “Time is not on your side; the corpse is decomposing.” Navalnaya contends that officials are setting stringent conditions for the burial of her son and refusing to comply with legal requirements that mandate the release of the body to the family. This situation has prompted her to make a public plea for the return of her son’s remains.
Lyudmila Navalnaya’s statement was posted in a video on her late son’s YouTube channel. She concludes her address with a poignant demand for the authorities to respect her rights as a grieving mother and return Alexei Navalny’s body to her. As of now, there has been no immediate response from Russian authorities.
Separately, in a significant development, US President Joe Biden met with Yulia Navalny, the widow of Alexei Navalny, and their daughter Dasha Navalnaya in San Francisco. The White House released a statement expressing the president’s admiration for Alexei Navalny’s courage and his legacy of fighting against corruption for a free and democratic Russia. Additionally, the US is reportedly preparing to issue new sanctions on Russia.
Alexei Navalny died in a Russian prison colony on February 16, and while prison officials attributed his death to a sudden illness during a walk, his widow, Yulia Navalnaya, has accused the Russian authorities, specifically President Vladimir Putin, of orchestrating his killing. The Kremlin has consistently denied these allegations, dismissing Western reactions to Navalny’s death as “hysterical.” The decision to show Navalny’s mother his body suggests a potential attempt by authorities to negotiate conditions for the burial and avoid the funeral becoming a political event. The situation remains tense, and attempts at commemorating Navalny’s death have faced a heavy-handed response from Russian authorities, including arrests and the removal of makeshift monuments.
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